march | april vol. iii, issue 4
Tabitha Tuders her family is not giving up | The weeks can't be stopped love, murder & spaceships the works of Bente Gallagher March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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COME. CELEBRATE. WORSHIP.
MAUNDY THURSDAY March 28 6:30 pm – Communion service GOOD FRIDAY – 12 noon Words from the Cross SATURDAY – East Nashville Egg Hunt – hunt starts @ 11am East Park (for children through 6th grade) – Food trucks will be here or bring your picnic, and activities for children EASTER SUNDAY – two services at 8:30am and 10:30am with the continental breakfast after the 8:30am service and before the 10:30am service.
510 Woodland St., Nashville, TN 37206 615.255.1289 • www.nfcn.org
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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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COME. CELEBRATE. WORSHIP.
MAUNDY THURSDAY March 28 6:30 pm – Communion service GOOD FRIDAY – 12 noon Words from the Cross SATURDAY – East Nashville Egg Hunt – hunt starts @ 11am East Park (for children through 6th grade) – Food trucks will be here or bring your picnic, and activities for children EASTER SUNDAY – two services at 8:30am and 10:30am with the continental breakfast after the 8:30am service and before the 10:30am service.
510 Woodland St., Nashville, TN 37206 615.255.1289 • www.nfcn.org
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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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PUBLISHER
Lisa McCauley EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Chuck Allen
M A NAG I N G ED I TO R
Joey Butler
DESIGN DIRECTOR
Benjamin Rumble
CA LEN DA R ED I TO R
Emma Alford
S TA F F P H O T O G R A P H E R
Stacie Huckeba
ADVERTISING DESIGN
Emily Marlow Benjamin Rumble
CONTRIBU TING WRITERS
Emma Alford Warren Denney Terri Dorsey Dan Heller Liz Jungers Hughes Eric Jans Robbie D. Jones Theresa Laurence Jennifer Lyle Bill Purcell Catherine Randall Tommy Womack
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Chuck Allen Barbara Brown Beth Odle
A D V E R T I S I N G C O N TA C T
Lisa McCauley lisa@theeastnashvillian.com 615-582-4187
www.theeastnashvillian.com C orrections The article East Nashville Gets Efficient in Issue 3.3 omitted the name of the home builder, Hart-Love Enterprises, LLC. Also in Issue 3.3, in Parting Shots guitarist Audley Freed’s name was misspelled.
© 2013 Kitchen Table Media, LLC
The East Nashvillian is published bimonthly by Kitchen Table Media, LLC. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.
10 16 21 27 31 37
TABLE OF CONTENTS 47 51 55 58 61 72 74
East Side Buzz The Johnny Foodstamp Show New girls on the block Studio bill update The saga of Hobson United Methodist By Terri Dorsey, Jennifer Lyle and Chuck Allen
What Are they building in east nashville? An economic development update By Eric Jans
‘We’re Not Giving Up’ A decade after Tabitha Tuders went missing, her family hasn’t lost hope of reuniting with their daughter. By Theresa Laurence
They Can’t stop us now With international buzz and a new album due out on King of Leon’s new label, it looks like everything is working for The Weeks By Emma Alford
The Tornado: 15 Years Later What makes us stronger: a reflection By Bill Purcell
East Nashville’s economic resurrection By Dan Heller
Post-tornado urban planning By Terri Dorsey
By Liz Jungers Hughes
What’s up with the roxy? Legal and financial hurdles hamper renovation plans for historic movie theater By Robbie D. Jones
Guess who’s coming to Seder? So many aspiring songwriters move to Nashville and wind up waiters. Randi Michaels Block became a playwright. Go figure. By Warren Denney
Continuing education in the 21st century The Skillery may be the next new wave in adult education
southern word Nashville’s brave new voices By Jennifer Lyle
LOVE, MURDER & SPACESHIPS East Nashville author Bente Gallagher juggles three novel series, two noms de plume and entirely too many Twitter feeds
By Catherine Randall
East Side Calendar East of Normal My kingdom for a cuppa By Tommy Womack
Parting shots
1998: not the first By Robbie D. Jones
On the cover: Photography by Beth Odle 6
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
7
PUBLISHER
Lisa McCauley EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Chuck Allen
M A NAG I N G ED I TO R
Joey Butler
DESIGN DIRECTOR
Benjamin Rumble
CA LEN DA R ED I TO R
Emma Alford
S TA F F P H O T O G R A P H E R
Stacie Huckeba
ADVERTISING DESIGN
Emily Marlow Benjamin Rumble
CONTRIBU TING WRITERS
Emma Alford Warren Denney Terri Dorsey Dan Heller Liz Jungers Hughes Eric Jans Robbie D. Jones Theresa Laurence Jennifer Lyle Bill Purcell Catherine Randall Tommy Womack
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Chuck Allen Barbara Brown Beth Odle
A D V E R T I S I N G C O N TA C T
Lisa McCauley lisa@theeastnashvillian.com 615-582-4187
www.theeastnashvillian.com C orrections The article East Nashville Gets Efficient in Issue 3.3 omitted the name of the home builder, Hart-Love Enterprises, LLC. Also in Issue 3.3, in Parting Shots guitarist Audley Freed’s name was misspelled.
© 2013 Kitchen Table Media, LLC
The East Nashvillian is published bimonthly by Kitchen Table Media, LLC. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.
10 16 21 27 31 37
TABLE OF CONTENTS 47 51 55 58 61 72 74
East Side Buzz The Johnny Foodstamp Show New girls on the block Studio bill update The saga of Hobson United Methodist By Terri Dorsey, Jennifer Lyle and Chuck Allen
What Are they building in east nashville? An economic development update By Eric Jans
‘We’re Not Giving Up’ A decade after Tabitha Tuders went missing, her family hasn’t lost hope of reuniting with their daughter. By Theresa Laurence
They Can’t stop us now With international buzz and a new album due out on King of Leon’s new label, it looks like everything is working for The Weeks By Emma Alford
The Tornado: 15 Years Later What makes us stronger: a reflection By Bill Purcell
East Nashville’s economic resurrection By Dan Heller
Post-tornado urban planning By Terri Dorsey
By Liz Jungers Hughes
What’s up with the roxy? Legal and financial hurdles hamper renovation plans for historic movie theater By Robbie D. Jones
Guess who’s coming to Seder? So many aspiring songwriters move to Nashville and wind up waiters. Randi Michaels Block became a playwright. Go figure. By Warren Denney
Continuing education in the 21st century The Skillery may be the next new wave in adult education
southern word Nashville’s brave new voices By Jennifer Lyle
LOVE, MURDER & SPACESHIPS East Nashville author Bente Gallagher juggles three novel series, two noms de plume and entirely too many Twitter feeds
By Catherine Randall
East Side Calendar East of Normal My kingdom for a cuppa By Tommy Womack
Parting shots
1998: not the first By Robbie D. Jones
On the cover: Photography by Beth Odle 6
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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Editor’s Letter existing in possibility
I
was living just south of Vanderbilt on a one-block stretch of Belcourt Ave., between Natchez Trace and 26th Ave. S. at the time. My friend Gary had stopped by, and we were chatting in the front yard. He was about to head back to his house in Edgefield. Looking west, I could see the rise of the hill atop which sits Love Circle. It had been raining off and on, the way it always does when the waves of a front move through. Now it was calm. Gary and I were commenting on how strange the atmosphere looked and felt. As I turned my gaze to the sky above Love Circle, I noticed it had become blue-black, with wispy gray clouds moving quickly below. “That’s a tornado cloud,” I heard myself say. Gary left, and I went back inside without having given the tornado comment any more thought. A half an hour later the phone rang. “Holy cow, man, they’re saying a tornado just blew threw downtown Nashville!” It was Gary calling from 2nd Avenue near lower Broadway. “The traffic’s crazy! There’s crap all over the streets, the brick fascia of one the old buildings collapsed … I’m tellin’ ya, something major went down!” He hadn’t seen the worst of it yet. Hours would pass before he was able to find a way into Edgefield. I spent my younger days in the Belmont/ Hillsboro area. It was a much different place in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Less traffic, less expensive, fewer bars and restaurants; The International Market was around, as was Sunset Grill. Faison’s and The Iguana are now memories, but fond ones nonetheless. Those were heady days — and I’m not alone with that feeling. Much of what came after in Nashville, culturally speaking, began there. We knew we were in the midst of
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March | April 2013
something special. The energy was palpable. And so was the potential. Maybe that’s what drew me to the East Side several years ago. I hadn’t planned my relocation based on a feeling, really, but over time I’ve begun to notice a similar energy, a similar sense of potential. I’m fairly certain I’m not alone with that feeling either. The foundation upon which the community we call East Nashville is based was laid down long before the tornado swept through on April 16, 1998. Indeed, it was already firmly in place when the tornado swept through in 1933. Had it not been, there would have been no renewal. All that has happened since the tornado existed in possibility before, but that day Mother Nature served up a catalyst. For our cover feature, we’ve invited three East Nashvillians to share their perspectives on how and why so much has changed since the storm, as well as how it’s stayed the same. Former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell underscores the idea that the spirit of our community is neither enhanced nor diminished by events like the tornado. The roots of community grow deeper than trees, and, if anything, the tornado highlighted this. Developer Dan Heller, who is also the president co-creator of Urban Green Lab, speaks to the power of capital in the marketplace, and how such a large surge of growth in such a short period of time has created an ongoing opportunity for investment on the East Side. Finally, Terri Dorsey explains how urban planning during the early stages of recovery has allowed commercial development in East Nashville to grow by leaps and bounds while maintaining the livable, neighborhood feel that is one of its greatest strengths.
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
9
Editor’s Letter existing in possibility
I
was living just south of Vanderbilt on a one-block stretch of Belcourt Ave., between Natchez Trace and 26th Ave. S. at the time. My friend Gary had stopped by, and we were chatting in the front yard. He was about to head back to his house in Edgefield. Looking west, I could see the rise of the hill atop which sits Love Circle. It had been raining off and on, the way it always does when the waves of a front move through. Now it was calm. Gary and I were commenting on how strange the atmosphere looked and felt. As I turned my gaze to the sky above Love Circle, I noticed it had become blue-black, with wispy gray clouds moving quickly below. “That’s a tornado cloud,” I heard myself say. Gary left, and I went back inside without having given the tornado comment any more thought. A half an hour later the phone rang. “Holy cow, man, they’re saying a tornado just blew threw downtown Nashville!” It was Gary calling from 2nd Avenue near lower Broadway. “The traffic’s crazy! There’s crap all over the streets, the brick fascia of one the old buildings collapsed … I’m tellin’ ya, something major went down!” He hadn’t seen the worst of it yet. Hours would pass before he was able to find a way into Edgefield. I spent my younger days in the Belmont/ Hillsboro area. It was a much different place in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Less traffic, less expensive, fewer bars and restaurants; The International Market was around, as was Sunset Grill. Faison’s and The Iguana are now memories, but fond ones nonetheless. Those were heady days — and I’m not alone with that feeling. Much of what came after in Nashville, culturally speaking, began there. We knew we were in the midst of
8
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
something special. The energy was palpable. And so was the potential. Maybe that’s what drew me to the East Side several years ago. I hadn’t planned my relocation based on a feeling, really, but over time I’ve begun to notice a similar energy, a similar sense of potential. I’m fairly certain I’m not alone with that feeling either. The foundation upon which the community we call East Nashville is based was laid down long before the tornado swept through on April 16, 1998. Indeed, it was already firmly in place when the tornado swept through in 1933. Had it not been, there would have been no renewal. All that has happened since the tornado existed in possibility before, but that day Mother Nature served up a catalyst. For our cover feature, we’ve invited three East Nashvillians to share their perspectives on how and why so much has changed since the storm, as well as how it’s stayed the same. Former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell underscores the idea that the spirit of our community is neither enhanced nor diminished by events like the tornado. The roots of community grow deeper than trees, and, if anything, the tornado highlighted this. Developer Dan Heller, who is also the president co-creator of Urban Green Lab, speaks to the power of capital in the marketplace, and how such a large surge of growth in such a short period of time has created an ongoing opportunity for investment on the East Side. Finally, Terri Dorsey explains how urban planning during the early stages of recovery has allowed commercial development in East Nashville to grow by leaps and bounds while maintaining the livable, neighborhood feel that is one of its greatest strengths.
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
9
E A S T S ID E B U Z Z
29-year-old Jake Compton (a.k.a. Johnny Foodstamp) is an East Nashville roofer by day and a musician by night. Now he can add musical jingle writer to his credits. His group, The Johnny Foodstamp Show, was one of the top 20 finalists in the Safe Auto jingle competition. His homemade ragtime song, shot on his cell phone, has been in the top 20 ranking since the beginning of the two-month online contest. He describes the group’s style as “olde-tyme music from the future,” playing the banjo ukulele, washboard and banjo. Anyone who visited the “Do the Jingle” site could vote for the winner once per day, as many times as they wanted. Working a social media campaign was just as important as the jingle, says Compton: “In the morning I would get up, have my coffee, check the numbers and urge friends to vote.” He didn’t like
the popularity contest but was pleased when The Johnny Foodstamp Show climbed to 7th place. Finishing in the top 10 meant there was a chance their jingle would be chosen by Safe Auto. The contest ended Feb. 28 and at press time, Compton’s band was solidly in 13th place. They finished above two other Nashville artists in the top 20, and Nashvillian Jessica Frech — she of Hyundai commercial and “People of Walmart” fame — was in second place. In his roofing business, Compton rarely deals with insurance companies and he is unfamiliar with Safe Auto. “I don’t use them for
anything but the jingle,” admits the musician, yet he hopes his jingle will end up promoting their brand. He’d also like to write more jingles, and might enter a contest for Folgers, “but I don’t want the same format. I don’t want to be harassing my fans to vote.” In the meantime, roofer Jake Compton is getting more bookings than Johnny Foodstamp because frequent storms means his roofing business isn’t slowing down. However his day job won’t prevent him from a festival tour in Europe this summer. Compton just got married and his overseas gigs “are going to double as a honeymoon.”
It’s the thing you don’t expect... that can cause the most damage.
$7 AT DOOR
Special Guests: Eight o Five Jive Mindy McQ WWW.MEETTHESEAVERS.COM
Lunch
Your home may be the culprit of air leakage, mold, radon, or something even worse... without you even knowing. E3 INNOVATE offers powerful, efficient, and cost-effective solutions that will improve your homes energy efficiency and more importantly your family’s quality of life. Make sure every aspect of your home is performing properly, especially after the East Nashville tornado. Let E3 INNOVATE give your home a thorough health and energy efficient inspection. Call today.
Happy Hour
O
A about rsk us eceivin
$1,200
g
in incen tives!
Courtesty of The Johnny Foodstamp Show
the Johnny Foodstamp show
PE
N DAIL
Dinner
Y
Where Downtown Meets East www.feastonfifth.com
sealed crawlspace
sprayfoam insulation
duct leakage repair
air quality testing
c a l l u s t o d a y a t 615 - 8 7 6 - 5 4 7 9 • e 3 i n n o v a t e . c o m • V i s i t u s o n f a c e b o o k 10
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
615-252-254 2 | 501 Main street, 37206 in Fifth and Main March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
11
E A S T S ID E B U Z Z
29-year-old Jake Compton (a.k.a. Johnny Foodstamp) is an East Nashville roofer by day and a musician by night. Now he can add musical jingle writer to his credits. His group, The Johnny Foodstamp Show, was one of the top 20 finalists in the Safe Auto jingle competition. His homemade ragtime song, shot on his cell phone, has been in the top 20 ranking since the beginning of the two-month online contest. He describes the group’s style as “olde-tyme music from the future,” playing the banjo ukulele, washboard and banjo. Anyone who visited the “Do the Jingle” site could vote for the winner once per day, as many times as they wanted. Working a social media campaign was just as important as the jingle, says Compton: “In the morning I would get up, have my coffee, check the numbers and urge friends to vote.” He didn’t like
the popularity contest but was pleased when The Johnny Foodstamp Show climbed to 7th place. Finishing in the top 10 meant there was a chance their jingle would be chosen by Safe Auto. The contest ended Feb. 28 and at press time, Compton’s band was solidly in 13th place. They finished above two other Nashville artists in the top 20, and Nashvillian Jessica Frech — she of Hyundai commercial and “People of Walmart” fame — was in second place. In his roofing business, Compton rarely deals with insurance companies and he is unfamiliar with Safe Auto. “I don’t use them for
anything but the jingle,” admits the musician, yet he hopes his jingle will end up promoting their brand. He’d also like to write more jingles, and might enter a contest for Folgers, “but I don’t want the same format. I don’t want to be harassing my fans to vote.” In the meantime, roofer Jake Compton is getting more bookings than Johnny Foodstamp because frequent storms means his roofing business isn’t slowing down. However his day job won’t prevent him from a festival tour in Europe this summer. Compton just got married and his overseas gigs “are going to double as a honeymoon.”
It’s the thing you don’t expect... that can cause the most damage.
$7 AT DOOR
Special Guests: Eight o Five Jive Mindy McQ WWW.MEETTHESEAVERS.COM
Lunch
Your home may be the culprit of air leakage, mold, radon, or something even worse... without you even knowing. E3 INNOVATE offers powerful, efficient, and cost-effective solutions that will improve your homes energy efficiency and more importantly your family’s quality of life. Make sure every aspect of your home is performing properly, especially after the East Nashville tornado. Let E3 INNOVATE give your home a thorough health and energy efficient inspection. Call today.
Happy Hour
O
A about rsk us eceivin
$1,200
g
in incen tives!
Courtesty of The Johnny Foodstamp Show
the Johnny Foodstamp show
PE
N DAIL
Dinner
Y
Where Downtown Meets East www.feastonfifth.com
sealed crawlspace
sprayfoam insulation
duct leakage repair
air quality testing
c a l l u s t o d a y a t 615 - 8 7 6 - 5 4 7 9 • e 3 i n n o v a t e . c o m • V i s i t u s o n f a c e b o o k 10
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
615-252-254 2 | 501 Main street, 37206 in Fifth and Main March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
11
E A S T S ID E B U Z Z
You Go Girl
A New Crop of Business Cheerleaders Anyone who has ever started their own business knows first-hand how hard it is to be successful. It takes a village. And networking is one of the most important things you can do to get your name and brand out there and on the tip of people’s tongues. That need to network led Emily Masters, co-owner of Dance East on Gallatin Avenue, to the birth of her latest brainchild: a new merchants’ association. But sorry fellas, this one is strictly for women. Masters — a former professional ballroom dancer and past vice president of the Nashville chapter of the National Women’s Book Association, among many other endeavors — found that the relationships that influenced the propagation of her business the most were those she forged with other women business owners and leaders in the community. “I was always bouncing ideas off of women like Sunny Becks-Crumpton of Hooprama and Tammy Derr at Fairytales bookstore,” Masters said. “They became my mentors.” The idea for a formalized group for businesswomen, however, didn’t really get off the ground until the urging of Emily’s husband, ironically, propelled her to act. With that push, she started a Facebook message and less than two weeks later, the tentatively titled Women of East Nashville (WEN) held its first meeting back in early February at her studio. More than 40 women showed up for that initial gathering, all either business owners or leaders in their field, including a travel agent, an acupuncturist, a nurse practitioner, a marketing guru, a real-estate agent and many more walks of businesswoman life in between. “We don’t want to exclude anyone,” Masters emphasized. So long as you’re an East Nashvillian and a member of the fairer sex, you’re welcome. It was unanimously agreed that in addition to encouragement and networking, the women of WEN want education and access to knowledge that will help push their careers and businesses forward. One woman during that first meeting said, “Women are the nurturers of this community” — a statement that echoed Masters’ experience and is ultimately the founding principle of the group. “We want to learn about each other’s 12
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
13
E A S T S ID E B U Z Z
You Go Girl
A New Crop of Business Cheerleaders Anyone who has ever started their own business knows first-hand how hard it is to be successful. It takes a village. And networking is one of the most important things you can do to get your name and brand out there and on the tip of people’s tongues. That need to network led Emily Masters, co-owner of Dance East on Gallatin Avenue, to the birth of her latest brainchild: a new merchants’ association. But sorry fellas, this one is strictly for women. Masters — a former professional ballroom dancer and past vice president of the Nashville chapter of the National Women’s Book Association, among many other endeavors — found that the relationships that influenced the propagation of her business the most were those she forged with other women business owners and leaders in the community. “I was always bouncing ideas off of women like Sunny Becks-Crumpton of Hooprama and Tammy Derr at Fairytales bookstore,” Masters said. “They became my mentors.” The idea for a formalized group for businesswomen, however, didn’t really get off the ground until the urging of Emily’s husband, ironically, propelled her to act. With that push, she started a Facebook message and less than two weeks later, the tentatively titled Women of East Nashville (WEN) held its first meeting back in early February at her studio. More than 40 women showed up for that initial gathering, all either business owners or leaders in their field, including a travel agent, an acupuncturist, a nurse practitioner, a marketing guru, a real-estate agent and many more walks of businesswoman life in between. “We don’t want to exclude anyone,” Masters emphasized. So long as you’re an East Nashvillian and a member of the fairer sex, you’re welcome. It was unanimously agreed that in addition to encouragement and networking, the women of WEN want education and access to knowledge that will help push their careers and businesses forward. One woman during that first meeting said, “Women are the nurturers of this community” — a statement that echoed Masters’ experience and is ultimately the founding principle of the group. “We want to learn about each other’s 12
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
13
E A S T S ID E B U Z Z
businesses,” Masters said, “so we can help spread the word for each other.” Her utmost hope for the group, whose second meeting will most likely be held toward the end of March, is that it becomes the kind of resource to help stimulate and grow new business as well as nurture and inspire collaborations between existing ones. That, and of course, “to never have to cross the river!” she joked. Check out the Women of East Nashville’s Facebook page, which currently has more than 150 members, for more information on the group and specifics like dues, goals and meeting times.
Studio Bill Update The feature story “Breakin’ The Law” in the January/February issue of The East Nashvillian covered the strange but true fact that home recording studios aren’t legally recognized entities under current Metro Codes. Councilman-at-Large Megan Berry’s
14
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
introduction of a bill to address this was largely overlooked by the community it sought to help; indeed, at the council meeting during which the possibility of an up or down vote on the bill existed, only three people stepped up to the microphone to express their opinions for the record. Two of them were in support of the bill as written. The third, local Musician’s Union president Dave Pomeroy, having only become aware of the bill that very day, spoke in opposition. Due to the concerns expressed that evening by Pomeroy, as well as by various council members, Berry postponed the vote in order to give the various and a sundry disparate interested parties an opportunity to have their voices heard. Not to mention providing them with a little education. Since that meeting, Berry says, “We’ve been working behind the scenes to help folks understand the implications.” The bill will be heard on a second reading when the Metro Council meets on April 2. After that, it will still require a third vote which — “… if all goes well,” says Berry — will be held at the meeting on April 16.
March | April 2013
The Saga of Hobson United Methodist The Hobson United Methodist Church situated at the corner of Greenwood and Chapel Avenues has been in the news quite a bit recently. But it isn’t for recognition of public service or their acceptance of the growing LGBT presence in the community. No. Their media resurgence is the result of the church board’s refusal to allow local magnet school Liberty Collegiate Academy to purchase the dilapidated property. The 4.5-acre landmark was originally erected in 1890 and once boasted a vibrant population. When the Rev. Sonnye Dixon came to Hobson’s pulpit in 1992, however, that population had dwindled to less than 20. Over the past two decades, the vivacious 60-year-old managed to bring those numbers close to 100 members. But when the tornado of 1998 hit East Nashville, it paved the way for the re-gentrification that’s changed the face of the neighborhood. The result? What was once a primarily black community has now become a primarily white one. “It’s very clear that East Nashville is now the hippest part of town,” Dixon said. In January of 2012, with property values soaring, a building they couldn’t maintain and a brand of ministry that was “no longer able to meet the needs” of the neighborhood, in addition to his own nearing retirement, Dixon realized his congregation needed to relocate if they were going to survive. “The reality of it was, there just wasn’t the money to get it fixed up for what we were doing.” So along with Nashville’s district superintendent for The United Methodist Church, Hobson quietly began looking for a solution. In August, their first potential buyer, magnet school, Liberty Collegiate, came a-knockin’. The school located at 10th and Fatherland, is set to vacate their current space at the end of this school year, so taking over the Hobson building seemed like the perfect fix for everyone. That is until Liberty started taking a few too many liberties of their own, according to Dixon. At first, he said, the school only wanted to lease the property, even saying the church could stay there. But when their initial proposals came in, the people of Hobson felt like they were getting lowballed. The church property and building appraised at $1.3 million; Liberty’s offer was a fraction of that.“Basically, the March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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E A S T S ID E B U Z Z
businesses,” Masters said, “so we can help spread the word for each other.” Her utmost hope for the group, whose second meeting will most likely be held toward the end of March, is that it becomes the kind of resource to help stimulate and grow new business as well as nurture and inspire collaborations between existing ones. That, and of course, “to never have to cross the river!” she joked. Check out the Women of East Nashville’s Facebook page, which currently has more than 150 members, for more information on the group and specifics like dues, goals and meeting times.
Studio Bill Update The feature story “Breakin’ The Law” in the January/February issue of The East Nashvillian covered the strange but true fact that home recording studios aren’t legally recognized entities under current Metro Codes. Councilman-at-Large Megan Berry’s
14
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
introduction of a bill to address this was largely overlooked by the community it sought to help; indeed, at the council meeting during which the possibility of an up or down vote on the bill existed, only three people stepped up to the microphone to express their opinions for the record. Two of them were in support of the bill as written. The third, local Musician’s Union president Dave Pomeroy, having only become aware of the bill that very day, spoke in opposition. Due to the concerns expressed that evening by Pomeroy, as well as by various council members, Berry postponed the vote in order to give the various and a sundry disparate interested parties an opportunity to have their voices heard. Not to mention providing them with a little education. Since that meeting, Berry says, “We’ve been working behind the scenes to help folks understand the implications.” The bill will be heard on a second reading when the Metro Council meets on April 2. After that, it will still require a third vote which — “… if all goes well,” says Berry — will be held at the meeting on April 16.
March | April 2013
The Saga of Hobson United Methodist The Hobson United Methodist Church situated at the corner of Greenwood and Chapel Avenues has been in the news quite a bit recently. But it isn’t for recognition of public service or their acceptance of the growing LGBT presence in the community. No. Their media resurgence is the result of the church board’s refusal to allow local magnet school Liberty Collegiate Academy to purchase the dilapidated property. The 4.5-acre landmark was originally erected in 1890 and once boasted a vibrant population. When the Rev. Sonnye Dixon came to Hobson’s pulpit in 1992, however, that population had dwindled to less than 20. Over the past two decades, the vivacious 60-year-old managed to bring those numbers close to 100 members. But when the tornado of 1998 hit East Nashville, it paved the way for the re-gentrification that’s changed the face of the neighborhood. The result? What was once a primarily black community has now become a primarily white one. “It’s very clear that East Nashville is now the hippest part of town,” Dixon said. In January of 2012, with property values soaring, a building they couldn’t maintain and a brand of ministry that was “no longer able to meet the needs” of the neighborhood, in addition to his own nearing retirement, Dixon realized his congregation needed to relocate if they were going to survive. “The reality of it was, there just wasn’t the money to get it fixed up for what we were doing.” So along with Nashville’s district superintendent for The United Methodist Church, Hobson quietly began looking for a solution. In August, their first potential buyer, magnet school, Liberty Collegiate, came a-knockin’. The school located at 10th and Fatherland, is set to vacate their current space at the end of this school year, so taking over the Hobson building seemed like the perfect fix for everyone. That is until Liberty started taking a few too many liberties of their own, according to Dixon. At first, he said, the school only wanted to lease the property, even saying the church could stay there. But when their initial proposals came in, the people of Hobson felt like they were getting lowballed. The church property and building appraised at $1.3 million; Liberty’s offer was a fraction of that.“Basically, the March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
15
first deal said they wanted to lease the property for $35,000 a year for a period of 66 years, but they only wanted to let us use the sanctuary for two hours, one day a week,” Dixon said. “They didn’t even include bathrooms in that proposal.” Furthermore, the school wanted to take the total cost of repairs, quoted around $2 mil-
lion, out of the lease value. “I just feel like they thought they could give us a little bit of something and it didn’t matter,” Dixon intimated. The deal went back and forth for months, but ultimately, he and his congregation just weren’t comfortable with the parameters of Liberty’s proposal, so they voted it down this past January.
Now, the building sits empty as most of the congregation has moved out to the old St. Andrews UMC building in North Nashville, where they took up shop in preparation for Liberty to take over. “It’s not desperate as far as the building is concerned,” Dixon explained, “but it is desperate as far as who we are as a congregation. It was clear we weren’t wanted in that neighborhood anymore,” he continued. “People there didn’t want to come to a church where they would be confronted with their own prejudices. They don’t want to send their kids to the public schools and work at making them better. So honestly, I don’t know what we’re going to do.” But even with the uncertainty that lies ahead for his church, Dixon is glad they didn’t roll over and take it on the chin. “That’s just not the kind of pastor I am.”
photo by chuck allen
E A S T S ID E B U Z Z
Life and Limb Printing CO For All Of Your Screen Printing Needs! CAMILLE UTTERBACK DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE | 615-244-3340 | FRISTCENTER.ORG Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission
THROUGH MAY 19
Members/Youth 18 and younger FREE
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www.lifeandlimbprinting.com
Camille Utterback and RomyAchituv. Text Rain (installation view), 1999. Interactive installation; custom software, video camera, computer, projector, and lighting. Courtesy of the artists.
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March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
17
first deal said they wanted to lease the property for $35,000 a year for a period of 66 years, but they only wanted to let us use the sanctuary for two hours, one day a week,” Dixon said. “They didn’t even include bathrooms in that proposal.” Furthermore, the school wanted to take the total cost of repairs, quoted around $2 mil-
lion, out of the lease value. “I just feel like they thought they could give us a little bit of something and it didn’t matter,” Dixon intimated. The deal went back and forth for months, but ultimately, he and his congregation just weren’t comfortable with the parameters of Liberty’s proposal, so they voted it down this past January.
Now, the building sits empty as most of the congregation has moved out to the old St. Andrews UMC building in North Nashville, where they took up shop in preparation for Liberty to take over. “It’s not desperate as far as the building is concerned,” Dixon explained, “but it is desperate as far as who we are as a congregation. It was clear we weren’t wanted in that neighborhood anymore,” he continued. “People there didn’t want to come to a church where they would be confronted with their own prejudices. They don’t want to send their kids to the public schools and work at making them better. So honestly, I don’t know what we’re going to do.” But even with the uncertainty that lies ahead for his church, Dixon is glad they didn’t roll over and take it on the chin. “That’s just not the kind of pastor I am.”
photo by chuck allen
E A S T S ID E B U Z Z
Life and Limb Printing CO For All Of Your Screen Printing Needs! CAMILLE UTTERBACK DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE | 615-244-3340 | FRISTCENTER.ORG Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission
THROUGH MAY 19
Members/Youth 18 and younger FREE
info@lifeandlimbprinting.com + 615.513.4757
www.lifeandlimbprinting.com
Camille Utterback and RomyAchituv. Text Rain (installation view), 1999. Interactive installation; custom software, video camera, computer, projector, and lighting. Courtesy of the artists.
16
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
17
of the first tenants to sign a lease was Sunny Becks, who will be moving her popular hulahooping business, hoopsupplies.com, into a 2,000 square foot space. East Nashville Self Storage takes up two of the floors and faces the Main Street side of the building. Developer Adam Leibowitz calls the project “five years in the making” and like the rest of us, he is “ecstatic” about the progress. Just to the east, the former French Quarter Café is becoming The Crying Wolf, a bar/ restaurant and music venue opening in the spring. The Fluffo buildings are getting a complete overhaul – the building on Woodland will feature retail and office space and at least one restaurant in the 20,000 square foot space. Much of the action will be on the alley side, which developer Dan Heller compares to Printer’s Alley, where a courtyard will connect to the new businesses going into the Fluffo building on Main Street. At 5 Points next to Cumberland Hardware, the Tenn Sixteen Food and Drink Company will feature Cajun- and Southern-inspired food and many beers on tap. Lipstick Lounge is for sale. The next big venue could be yours for a mere $1.3 million.
An Economic Development Update
Along Main Street At the Fluffo building, Fat Bottom Brewing is already off to a fantastic start. Next door, the Edley’s BBQ build-out is coming along. Also in the works are Hot Yoga of East Nashville, and a growler-filling station appropriately named The Filling Station, where you will be able to get draft beers bottled to take home. Another 10,000 square feet of office and retail space will be available. In the Hardaway Construction building at 615 Main Street, Christian Paro is creating a office suite complex, Center 615, similar to his building next door, Paro South. The refurbished 21,000 square foot building offers
office suites from 115 to 1,975 square feet, with conference rooms, a roof deck lounge and fitness area. They are just starting to lease, so they currently have availability. A new apartment complex is planned for the McFerrin and Main Street corner. No word on the timeline, but Adam Leibowitz is planning a 70-unit, four-story high-rise. East Nashville Cooperative Ministry is going to get a new kitchen to make it easier to serve the hundreds of homeless and impoverished that they feed daily. Steve Powell from Powell Design Studio will be heading that up. No stranger to East Nashville development, Powell is also involved in Fat Bottom Brewing, The Crying Wolf, Walden and many other recent projects in the area. A bus rapid transit system is planned along Main Street called The EastWest Connector and will stretch from 5 Points to West Nashville. Take a look at www.eastwestconnector.org. At Walden Next to Ugly Mugs, developer March Egerton is working on phase two of Walden. It will resemble the first phase with retail below and residential above. Climb Nashville will have a two-story climbing wall at the south end. No word on other tenants as of yet, but a new restaurant is part of the plan. At Porter East Developer Brent Elrod has just finished phase two of the project at the corner of Portland and Eastland, which added eight more retail spaces and is anchored by Montessori East and Pomodoro East. The next stage is finishing the build-out of four office spaces inside on the first floor, which will be 2,000 square feet available to be leased. At Riverside Village Most of the action on McGavock and
Riverside that will be occurring in the very near future is a shuffling of some of our favorite places. Mitchell Deli has bought the building to the west of Village Pub and will be renovating and then moving. Olive & Sinclair has bought the H.G. Hill building at 17th and Fatherland and will be renovating and moving. Both of these moves should happen by the fall and developer Dan Heller is confident that the spaces will fill quickly. Old Made Good has already made the move from Riverside Village to 3701B Gallatin Pike. Their former space will be the headquarters for Urban Green Lab for the foreseeable future, as they work on the site build at McGavock and Maxey. In Other Parts of East Nashville At Ordway and Gallatin Road in the old Mrs. Winner’s building, the rumor is a Jet’s Pizza is coming. At Fatherland and 17th, in addition to the big move by Olive & Sinclair, there will be a new clothing boutique called People Like Art, owned by designer Shannon Lea. At Cleveland and Lischey developer Brent Elrod is working on North Fourth, which is seven 650-700 square foot apartments with a 1,400 square foot retail space, designed for a coffee shop or restaurant. At Shelby and 6th, the Lynn’s Drugs and big grocery store building are currently being renovated for a new Family Dollar store. The owners of The Village Pub will be opening The Hop Stop, a place for food and beer, at 2909B Gallatin Pike in the former Red Dog Scooters building. Growler refills will be available as well. A late spring opening is planned. Whew! Are you still with me? It’s an unbelievable amount of change coming and undoubtedly there are some things missing from this list. But change is coming and it’s pretty exciting!
By Eric Jans
E
verywhere you turn in East Nashville there seems to be construction and new businesses popping up, to the point that it’s becoming hard to keep track. “There are a lot of obvious, good things going on,” says commercial real estate broker Chad Grout, “but the most significant thing is not so obvious, and that is the enormous amount of office space becoming available.” With more than 70,000 square feet of office and retail space coming online this year, it will surely impact not only our
18
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
shopping opportunities but will impact the restaurants as well, as more people start working in the neighborhood. Here’s a quick summary of the projects, rumors and recent completions: Along Woodland In the gigantic Bank of America building, work has begun on the Woodland side – now called 805 Woodland. Two bakeries will front the building, each with their own specialty. Yeast Nashville will specialize in kolaches, a Czech pastry, as well as breads,
March | April 2013
muffins, cookies and brownies. They will also serve Drew’s Brews coffee, and will have free Wi-Fi, indoor seating and possibly some outdoor tables. Next door, Nashville Sweets is a boutique bakery specializing in cakes, cake pops and cupcakes. Known for their beautiful birthday and wedding cakes, it will be exciting to have them in this new retail space. Both have Facebook pages with more info. The Woodland side of the three-story building is the top floor and will feature 26,000 square feet of community-oriented office space. One March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
19
of the first tenants to sign a lease was Sunny Becks, who will be moving her popular hulahooping business, hoopsupplies.com, into a 2,000 square foot space. East Nashville Self Storage takes up two of the floors and faces the Main Street side of the building. Developer Adam Leibowitz calls the project “five years in the making” and like the rest of us, he is “ecstatic” about the progress. Just to the east, the former French Quarter Café is becoming The Crying Wolf, a bar/ restaurant and music venue opening in the spring. The Fluffo buildings are getting a complete overhaul – the building on Woodland will feature retail and office space and at least one restaurant in the 20,000 square foot space. Much of the action will be on the alley side, which developer Dan Heller compares to Printer’s Alley, where a courtyard will connect to the new businesses going into the Fluffo building on Main Street. At 5 Points next to Cumberland Hardware, the Tenn Sixteen Food and Drink Company will feature Cajun- and Southern-inspired food and many beers on tap. Lipstick Lounge is for sale. The next big venue could be yours for a mere $1.3 million.
An Economic Development Update
Along Main Street At the Fluffo building, Fat Bottom Brewing is already off to a fantastic start. Next door, the Edley’s BBQ build-out is coming along. Also in the works are Hot Yoga of East Nashville, and a growler-filling station appropriately named The Filling Station, where you will be able to get draft beers bottled to take home. Another 10,000 square feet of office and retail space will be available. In the Hardaway Construction building at 615 Main Street, Christian Paro is creating a office suite complex, Center 615, similar to his building next door, Paro South. The refurbished 21,000 square foot building offers
office suites from 115 to 1,975 square feet, with conference rooms, a roof deck lounge and fitness area. They are just starting to lease, so they currently have availability. A new apartment complex is planned for the McFerrin and Main Street corner. No word on the timeline, but Adam Leibowitz is planning a 70-unit, four-story high-rise. East Nashville Cooperative Ministry is going to get a new kitchen to make it easier to serve the hundreds of homeless and impoverished that they feed daily. Steve Powell from Powell Design Studio will be heading that up. No stranger to East Nashville development, Powell is also involved in Fat Bottom Brewing, The Crying Wolf, Walden and many other recent projects in the area. A bus rapid transit system is planned along Main Street called The EastWest Connector and will stretch from 5 Points to West Nashville. Take a look at www.eastwestconnector.org. At Walden Next to Ugly Mugs, developer March Egerton is working on phase two of Walden. It will resemble the first phase with retail below and residential above. Climb Nashville will have a two-story climbing wall at the south end. No word on other tenants as of yet, but a new restaurant is part of the plan. At Porter East Developer Brent Elrod has just finished phase two of the project at the corner of Portland and Eastland, which added eight more retail spaces and is anchored by Montessori East and Pomodoro East. The next stage is finishing the build-out of four office spaces inside on the first floor, which will be 2,000 square feet available to be leased. At Riverside Village Most of the action on McGavock and
Riverside that will be occurring in the very near future is a shuffling of some of our favorite places. Mitchell Deli has bought the building to the west of Village Pub and will be renovating and then moving. Olive & Sinclair has bought the H.G. Hill building at 17th and Fatherland and will be renovating and moving. Both of these moves should happen by the fall and developer Dan Heller is confident that the spaces will fill quickly. Old Made Good has already made the move from Riverside Village to 3701B Gallatin Pike. Their former space will be the headquarters for Urban Green Lab for the foreseeable future, as they work on the site build at McGavock and Maxey. In Other Parts of East Nashville At Ordway and Gallatin Road in the old Mrs. Winner’s building, the rumor is a Jet’s Pizza is coming. At Fatherland and 17th, in addition to the big move by Olive & Sinclair, there will be a new clothing boutique called People Like Art, owned by designer Shannon Lea. At Cleveland and Lischey developer Brent Elrod is working on North Fourth, which is seven 650-700 square foot apartments with a 1,400 square foot retail space, designed for a coffee shop or restaurant. At Shelby and 6th, the Lynn’s Drugs and big grocery store building are currently being renovated for a new Family Dollar store. The owners of The Village Pub will be opening The Hop Stop, a place for food and beer, at 2909B Gallatin Pike in the former Red Dog Scooters building. Growler refills will be available as well. A late spring opening is planned. Whew! Are you still with me? It’s an unbelievable amount of change coming and undoubtedly there are some things missing from this list. But change is coming and it’s pretty exciting!
By Eric Jans
E
verywhere you turn in East Nashville there seems to be construction and new businesses popping up, to the point that it’s becoming hard to keep track. “There are a lot of obvious, good things going on,” says commercial real estate broker Chad Grout, “but the most significant thing is not so obvious, and that is the enormous amount of office space becoming available.” With more than 70,000 square feet of office and retail space coming online this year, it will surely impact not only our
18
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
shopping opportunities but will impact the restaurants as well, as more people start working in the neighborhood. Here’s a quick summary of the projects, rumors and recent completions: Along Woodland In the gigantic Bank of America building, work has begun on the Woodland side – now called 805 Woodland. Two bakeries will front the building, each with their own specialty. Yeast Nashville will specialize in kolaches, a Czech pastry, as well as breads,
March | April 2013
muffins, cookies and brownies. They will also serve Drew’s Brews coffee, and will have free Wi-Fi, indoor seating and possibly some outdoor tables. Next door, Nashville Sweets is a boutique bakery specializing in cakes, cake pops and cupcakes. Known for their beautiful birthday and wedding cakes, it will be exciting to have them in this new retail space. Both have Facebook pages with more info. The Woodland side of the three-story building is the top floor and will feature 26,000 square feet of community-oriented office space. One March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
19
photo by Stacie Huckeba
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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
On April 29, 2003, 13-year-old Tabitha Tuders left for school and never came home. A decade later, her family hasn’t lost hope of reuniting with their daughter. By Theresa Laurence March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
21
photo by Stacie Huckeba
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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
On April 29, 2003, 13-year-old Tabitha Tuders left for school and never came home. A decade later, her family hasn’t lost hope of reuniting with their daughter. By Theresa Laurence March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
21
B
o Tuders sits on his front porch, finishing up a cigarette, winding down at the end of the workweek. Three of his seven grandchildren scamper in and out of the house. His wife, Debra, is inside watching television, recovering from surgery she had earlier that day. The house is small, bustling with happy activity. But this close-knit family is not complete. This family is missing their daughter, their sister, their aunt: Tabitha. It’s been almost 10 years since 13-year-old Tabitha Tuders left her Lillian Street home to walk to the school bus stop. It’s been exactly that long since her family has heard from her. “How can a child just disappear without any kind of evidence?” wonders Tabitha’s father, Bo, still disbelieving, all these years later, that his daughter never made it to school that day, never made it back home, and has remained missing for an entire decade. “She was a real sweetheart,” Tuders says, quickly correcting himself. “She’s still a sweetheart. She’s out there somewhere. We just have to get her back here.” Today, Bo talks easily and openly about his daughter, eager to share memories. In the days just before “she come up missing,” as her family says, she brought home a straight-A report card, won a prize at her church for memorizing the Ten Commandments, and read to her elderly neighbor. “She wasn’t like your regular teenager,” Tuders says. She wasn’t boy crazy or mischievous; she enjoyed being home with her family. The case of Tabitha Tuders has baffled not only her family, but also their East Nashville neighborhood, the city, local law enforcement, and the FBI. “A case of this nature is not very common at all,” according to Detective Lee Freeman with the Metro Nashville Police Department Cold Case unit, now handling the Tuders case. “We don’t have anything close to this we’re working on.” “The lack of physical evidence makes it very difficult,” says current West Precinct Commander Marlene Pardue. Several months after Tabitha’s disappearance, Pardue was named head of Youth Services and oversaw the early investigation of her case. Even with tips on the case continuing to pop up every month, “all we know for sure is that she walked toward the bus stop and hasn’t been heard from since,” says Freeman. The morning of April 29, 2003, was a typical one for the Tuders family. Debra Tuders awoke early to get ready for her job in the Tom Joy Elementary School cafeteria, where she still works today. Her husband, Bo, was sleeping when she left, and her daughter Tabitha remained curled up at the foot of her parents’ bed, where she sometimes slept on a pallet of blankets.
A short time after that, Bo got ready to hit the road as a short-haul truck driver, a job he also still has today. Tabitha’s older sister Jamie and her two young children were asleep down the hall. It was Tabitha’s job to get herself ready for school and out the door to the bus stop before 8 a.m. Even though Tabitha’s walk to the bus stop was short, she would have to pass a sketchy section of the neighborhood that was home to sex offenders and ex-cons. “The neighborhood was a little rougher then than it is now. It was pretty rough,” Tabitha’s older brother Kevin says, glancing up the street at a row of newly built homes with hefty price tags — a stark contrast to the very modest Tuders home, where the family has lived since 1988. “There are a lot of people around here who still haven’t been questioned that should be,” Bo adds. A few eyewitnesses saw Tabitha that morning, including one boy who described Tabitha getting into a red car at the corner of Boscobel and 15th streets, but police have raised issues about his credibility from the beginning. The police have little else to go on. “Somebody knows something in this case and we would like to know it too,” Pardue says. That Tuesday in 2003, the Tuderses assumed
determine if she had been abducted. “It was treated like any other case where a 13-year-old didn’t come home,” Pardue says. From the beginning, the Tuderses insisted their daughter was not a runaway. “It was hard for us to convince them,” Bo says, but “not all 13-year-olds run away.” That night, officers canvassed the neighborhood, from Shelby Park to LP Field. Family friends and neighborhood volunteers joined the search. “We were knocking on doors, looking in abandoned houses, everything we could think of to do,” recalls Kevin, recounting those first desperate hours and sleepless nights. While some officers hung onto the theory that Tabitha was a runaway, Bo Tuders credits some friends on the police force for pushing back against that notion. Pardue was one of those family friends who knew “she didn’t have a runaway history. There was no family history” of domestic violence or neglect, she said. In the weeks after Tabitha was reported missing, family members were questioned extensively, and underwent lie-detector tests. As the investigation continued for weeks, and then months, with no word from the missing girl, the runaway theory began to lose traction. It became increasingly clear that Tabitha had been kidnapped. In mid-July, more than two long months after she disappeared, police embarked on their largest and most systematic hunt for Tabitha, setting up a command center at LP Field. With the help of search dogs, officers carefully searched the streets of East Nashville for any sign of the missing girl, but no new evidence was discovered. After that, police worked the case behind the scenes. Many leads have come and gone over the years, but have always resulted in a dead end. Independent organizations dedicated to finding missing children, including the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation, have been involved with Tabitha’s case. Her story has been featured on the websites of America’s Most Wanted and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The FBI is currently offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case. Beyond the initial searches, the Tuders family has done a bit of their own legwork to keep Tabitha’s story in the public eye. They have appeared on national television talk shows, and they traveled to Las Vegas with hopes of meeting a woman who might be their daughter. Since Tabitha’s case was transferred to the Cold Case division two years ago, the Tuderses haven’t heard many updates. Tips come in to the police fairly often, but if detectives were to notify the family about every one, “they would be on an emotional rollercoaster,” says Freeman.
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that Tabitha had been in class all day at Bailey Middle School and first became concerned when she did not return home around 4 p.m. as she did every day. Maybe the bus was late, maybe she missed the bus home, maybe she was with a friend. As another hour went by, Debra and Bo became increasingly anxious and decided to go up to Bailey. A janitor let them into the nearly empty school and they found a teacher who confirmed that Tabitha was not in school that day. By the time the parents called 911 to report their daughter missing, 10 crucial hours had passed, giving any potential perpetrator that much more lead-time. Within an hour of receiving the 911 call, an officer responded to interview the Tuderses and fill out a missing person report. The police informed the media about the local missing girl in time for the 10 p.m. broadcasts, but did not issue an Amber Alert, the system used to notify the public and other law enforcement agencies about missing children. According to media reports at the time, police were harshly criticized for refusing to issue the alert, but defended the decision, saying Tabitha’s disappearance did not meet the necessary criteria to
March | April 2013
Photos courtesy of the tuders family
“It’s like part of you that’s out there missing somewhere.”
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
23
B
o Tuders sits on his front porch, finishing up a cigarette, winding down at the end of the workweek. Three of his seven grandchildren scamper in and out of the house. His wife, Debra, is inside watching television, recovering from surgery she had earlier that day. The house is small, bustling with happy activity. But this close-knit family is not complete. This family is missing their daughter, their sister, their aunt: Tabitha. It’s been almost 10 years since 13-year-old Tabitha Tuders left her Lillian Street home to walk to the school bus stop. It’s been exactly that long since her family has heard from her. “How can a child just disappear without any kind of evidence?” wonders Tabitha’s father, Bo, still disbelieving, all these years later, that his daughter never made it to school that day, never made it back home, and has remained missing for an entire decade. “She was a real sweetheart,” Tuders says, quickly correcting himself. “She’s still a sweetheart. She’s out there somewhere. We just have to get her back here.” Today, Bo talks easily and openly about his daughter, eager to share memories. In the days just before “she come up missing,” as her family says, she brought home a straight-A report card, won a prize at her church for memorizing the Ten Commandments, and read to her elderly neighbor. “She wasn’t like your regular teenager,” Tuders says. She wasn’t boy crazy or mischievous; she enjoyed being home with her family. The case of Tabitha Tuders has baffled not only her family, but also their East Nashville neighborhood, the city, local law enforcement, and the FBI. “A case of this nature is not very common at all,” according to Detective Lee Freeman with the Metro Nashville Police Department Cold Case unit, now handling the Tuders case. “We don’t have anything close to this we’re working on.” “The lack of physical evidence makes it very difficult,” says current West Precinct Commander Marlene Pardue. Several months after Tabitha’s disappearance, Pardue was named head of Youth Services and oversaw the early investigation of her case. Even with tips on the case continuing to pop up every month, “all we know for sure is that she walked toward the bus stop and hasn’t been heard from since,” says Freeman. The morning of April 29, 2003, was a typical one for the Tuders family. Debra Tuders awoke early to get ready for her job in the Tom Joy Elementary School cafeteria, where she still works today. Her husband, Bo, was sleeping when she left, and her daughter Tabitha remained curled up at the foot of her parents’ bed, where she sometimes slept on a pallet of blankets.
A short time after that, Bo got ready to hit the road as a short-haul truck driver, a job he also still has today. Tabitha’s older sister Jamie and her two young children were asleep down the hall. It was Tabitha’s job to get herself ready for school and out the door to the bus stop before 8 a.m. Even though Tabitha’s walk to the bus stop was short, she would have to pass a sketchy section of the neighborhood that was home to sex offenders and ex-cons. “The neighborhood was a little rougher then than it is now. It was pretty rough,” Tabitha’s older brother Kevin says, glancing up the street at a row of newly built homes with hefty price tags — a stark contrast to the very modest Tuders home, where the family has lived since 1988. “There are a lot of people around here who still haven’t been questioned that should be,” Bo adds. A few eyewitnesses saw Tabitha that morning, including one boy who described Tabitha getting into a red car at the corner of Boscobel and 15th streets, but police have raised issues about his credibility from the beginning. The police have little else to go on. “Somebody knows something in this case and we would like to know it too,” Pardue says. That Tuesday in 2003, the Tuderses assumed
determine if she had been abducted. “It was treated like any other case where a 13-year-old didn’t come home,” Pardue says. From the beginning, the Tuderses insisted their daughter was not a runaway. “It was hard for us to convince them,” Bo says, but “not all 13-year-olds run away.” That night, officers canvassed the neighborhood, from Shelby Park to LP Field. Family friends and neighborhood volunteers joined the search. “We were knocking on doors, looking in abandoned houses, everything we could think of to do,” recalls Kevin, recounting those first desperate hours and sleepless nights. While some officers hung onto the theory that Tabitha was a runaway, Bo Tuders credits some friends on the police force for pushing back against that notion. Pardue was one of those family friends who knew “she didn’t have a runaway history. There was no family history” of domestic violence or neglect, she said. In the weeks after Tabitha was reported missing, family members were questioned extensively, and underwent lie-detector tests. As the investigation continued for weeks, and then months, with no word from the missing girl, the runaway theory began to lose traction. It became increasingly clear that Tabitha had been kidnapped. In mid-July, more than two long months after she disappeared, police embarked on their largest and most systematic hunt for Tabitha, setting up a command center at LP Field. With the help of search dogs, officers carefully searched the streets of East Nashville for any sign of the missing girl, but no new evidence was discovered. After that, police worked the case behind the scenes. Many leads have come and gone over the years, but have always resulted in a dead end. Independent organizations dedicated to finding missing children, including the Shawn Hornbeck Foundation, have been involved with Tabitha’s case. Her story has been featured on the websites of America’s Most Wanted and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The FBI is currently offering a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case. Beyond the initial searches, the Tuders family has done a bit of their own legwork to keep Tabitha’s story in the public eye. They have appeared on national television talk shows, and they traveled to Las Vegas with hopes of meeting a woman who might be their daughter. Since Tabitha’s case was transferred to the Cold Case division two years ago, the Tuderses haven’t heard many updates. Tips come in to the police fairly often, but if detectives were to notify the family about every one, “they would be on an emotional rollercoaster,” says Freeman.
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that Tabitha had been in class all day at Bailey Middle School and first became concerned when she did not return home around 4 p.m. as she did every day. Maybe the bus was late, maybe she missed the bus home, maybe she was with a friend. As another hour went by, Debra and Bo became increasingly anxious and decided to go up to Bailey. A janitor let them into the nearly empty school and they found a teacher who confirmed that Tabitha was not in school that day. By the time the parents called 911 to report their daughter missing, 10 crucial hours had passed, giving any potential perpetrator that much more lead-time. Within an hour of receiving the 911 call, an officer responded to interview the Tuderses and fill out a missing person report. The police informed the media about the local missing girl in time for the 10 p.m. broadcasts, but did not issue an Amber Alert, the system used to notify the public and other law enforcement agencies about missing children. According to media reports at the time, police were harshly criticized for refusing to issue the alert, but defended the decision, saying Tabitha’s disappearance did not meet the necessary criteria to
March | April 2013
Photos courtesy of the tuders family
“It’s like part of you that’s out there missing somewhere.”
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A missing child flyer still hangs in the window of the 4-Way Market
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March | April 2013
left of it,” Bo says. His grandchildren who were born after she went missing “can tell you about her just like they’ve met her. We talk about her all the time.” From his post on the porch, Bo looks over at the banner that has hung off the front eaves for nearly 10 years. It’s a faded picture of Tabitha with her vital stats and a phone number to call with any information about the case. “It was up at the command center and it’s been here ever since,” Bo says. He explains that around the time Tabitha went missing, the family was considering moving, but then decided to stay put. “This is the only home she knew.” He runs through a scenario where Tabitha could escape from her captors and make her way back to East Nashville. The hope is, “if she gets away, she’ll come here,” he says. He pauses for a moment, reflecting on the weight of the situation. “This is something that I don’t wish on any parent, not knowing where your child is,” he says. “It’s like part of you that’s out there missing somewhere.” No matter what, the Tuderses have their memories of Tabitha, and they have hope that they will see her again. “All we’ve got left now is hope,” Bo says, “and we’re not giving up.”
YEAR ROUND TAX SPECIALISTS
Mondays 4:30-5:00 p.m. 3-6 year olds 5:00-5:45 p.m. 7 & up Above classes held at Eastwood Christian Church Fellowship Hall, 1601 Eastland Avenue photo by Stacie Huckeba and chuck allen
The banner which has hung above the porch of the Tuder home since Tabitha’s disappearance
“I understand that,” says Bo Tuders — although it’s sometimes difficult to convince himself. Every now and then, detectives may come by with a photo of a young woman that could be Tabitha, now 23. “So far nothing has panned out,” Bo says. None of the photos have turned out to be her. Freeman wants to be clear that just because Tabitha’s file has been shifted to the Cold Case unit “it’s not sitting on the shelf being ignored.” While it’s been said many times, he wants to say it again: “If somebody knows something, the police department asks that they come forward.” It may just take one tip or piece of evidence to make a big break in the case. Ten years after Tabitha Tuders disappeared from her Lockeland Springs neighborhood, life goes on in the Tuders family. Bo and Debra still work, and their seven grandchildren keep them busy. When they spend the night, they sleep in Tabitha’s old room, which has been updated but still houses her stuffed animal collection. The youngest Tuders grandchild was just born on Feb. 15, Tabitha’s 23rd birthday. Tabitha’s older sister Jamie named her new daughter Olivia Danielle, giving her the same middle name as her little sister. “You still have to go on with your life, what’s
Additional classes available in Brentwood, Pegram, and Vanderbilt University
Ceili Dance Friday, March 22, 6-8 p.m. at Eastwood Christian Church Fellowship Hall $10 recommended donation—no partner or experience necessary
Wendy Ellis Windsor-Hashiguchi, TCRG (615)300-4388 • www.scott-ellis.com
Advanced Tax & Income Services
• Year-round Tax Specialists • e-file • Personal Returns • Partnership & Corporate Returns • Trusts & Estates • Corporation & LLC Setup • Payroll Services 1008-B Forrest Ave, Nashville TN 37206 615-227-5916 www.advancedtaxandincome.com March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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A missing child flyer still hangs in the window of the 4-Way Market
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March | April 2013
left of it,” Bo says. His grandchildren who were born after she went missing “can tell you about her just like they’ve met her. We talk about her all the time.” From his post on the porch, Bo looks over at the banner that has hung off the front eaves for nearly 10 years. It’s a faded picture of Tabitha with her vital stats and a phone number to call with any information about the case. “It was up at the command center and it’s been here ever since,” Bo says. He explains that around the time Tabitha went missing, the family was considering moving, but then decided to stay put. “This is the only home she knew.” He runs through a scenario where Tabitha could escape from her captors and make her way back to East Nashville. The hope is, “if she gets away, she’ll come here,” he says. He pauses for a moment, reflecting on the weight of the situation. “This is something that I don’t wish on any parent, not knowing where your child is,” he says. “It’s like part of you that’s out there missing somewhere.” No matter what, the Tuderses have their memories of Tabitha, and they have hope that they will see her again. “All we’ve got left now is hope,” Bo says, “and we’re not giving up.”
YEAR ROUND TAX SPECIALISTS
Mondays 4:30-5:00 p.m. 3-6 year olds 5:00-5:45 p.m. 7 & up Above classes held at Eastwood Christian Church Fellowship Hall, 1601 Eastland Avenue photo by Stacie Huckeba and chuck allen
The banner which has hung above the porch of the Tuder home since Tabitha’s disappearance
“I understand that,” says Bo Tuders — although it’s sometimes difficult to convince himself. Every now and then, detectives may come by with a photo of a young woman that could be Tabitha, now 23. “So far nothing has panned out,” Bo says. None of the photos have turned out to be her. Freeman wants to be clear that just because Tabitha’s file has been shifted to the Cold Case unit “it’s not sitting on the shelf being ignored.” While it’s been said many times, he wants to say it again: “If somebody knows something, the police department asks that they come forward.” It may just take one tip or piece of evidence to make a big break in the case. Ten years after Tabitha Tuders disappeared from her Lockeland Springs neighborhood, life goes on in the Tuders family. Bo and Debra still work, and their seven grandchildren keep them busy. When they spend the night, they sleep in Tabitha’s old room, which has been updated but still houses her stuffed animal collection. The youngest Tuders grandchild was just born on Feb. 15, Tabitha’s 23rd birthday. Tabitha’s older sister Jamie named her new daughter Olivia Danielle, giving her the same middle name as her little sister. “You still have to go on with your life, what’s
Additional classes available in Brentwood, Pegram, and Vanderbilt University
Ceili Dance Friday, March 22, 6-8 p.m. at Eastwood Christian Church Fellowship Hall $10 recommended donation—no partner or experience necessary
Wendy Ellis Windsor-Hashiguchi, TCRG (615)300-4388 • www.scott-ellis.com
Advanced Tax & Income Services
• Year-round Tax Specialists • e-file • Personal Returns • Partnership & Corporate Returns • Trusts & Estates • Corporation & LLC Setup • Payroll Services 1008-B Forrest Ave, Nashville TN 37206 615-227-5916 www.advancedtaxandincome.com March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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er L f i n n e J By
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March | April 2013
here has been a steadily growing spoken-word community among Nashville’s youth over the past four and half years. Of course, we speak words everyday — to our co-workers, our friends, our families. In this day and age, through platforms like Facebook and Twitter, we can even speak to the world. However, to this community of youthful speakers, the spoken word is more than just the utterance of language by means of oral or electronic communication. For them, it’s both performance poetry and an art form, and what’s more, it’s proving to be a life raft — one that’s affording countless youths the opportunity to become the educated and literate adults they have the right to be. East Nashville transplant Benjamin Smith is the driving force behind the organization providing that life raft. Southern Word is a literacy program that serves both local and regional youths, especially those from underprivileged communities and schools. After relocating to Music City from the Bay
Area at the beginning of 2007, Smith knew he wanted to use his background in youth development but was unsure how. Then acquaintance James Kaas, the founder of Youth Speaks — a national organization based in San Francisco and the earliest spoken-word program of its kind — put the idea in Smith’s head to start a similar initiative in Nashville. At the time there were no spoken-word programs for youths in the area. Just over a year later, in June 2008, Smith started a not-for-profit group under the heading Youth Speaks Nashville, which has since rebranded as Southern Word to reflect its ever-growing reach throughout the Southeast. By any name, Southern Word’s mission has remained the same: “offer creative solutions for youth to build literacy and presentation skills, reconnect to their education and to their lives, and act as leaders in the improvement of their communities.” So with that comes the question: What does spoken word have to do with education, literacy or leadership?
Well, according to Smith, everything. “Speaking is under-taught in schools,” he explained. “I don’t think we’ve ever taught people to speak well, which is odd considering freedom of speech is one of our most cherished freedoms.” But it’s more than learning to speak, he says — it’s also learning to write, and learning through those skills how to be your true self. “A lot of high school kids believe that they are who they’re going to be for the rest of their lives, like that’s their essential identity,“ Smith said. As adults, we know this to be false, but for many adolescents — especially those who don’t think they have the luxury of boundless opportunities like some of their peers — this idea can be a roadblock toward a brighter future. Through programming like in-school residencies, open-mic nights, after-school workshops and showcases, Southern Word helps to remove that roadblock and pave the way toward a new path. In essence, paving that path is the impetus
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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yle
er L f i n n e J By
T
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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
here has been a steadily growing spoken-word community among Nashville’s youth over the past four and half years. Of course, we speak words everyday — to our co-workers, our friends, our families. In this day and age, through platforms like Facebook and Twitter, we can even speak to the world. However, to this community of youthful speakers, the spoken word is more than just the utterance of language by means of oral or electronic communication. For them, it’s both performance poetry and an art form, and what’s more, it’s proving to be a life raft — one that’s affording countless youths the opportunity to become the educated and literate adults they have the right to be. East Nashville transplant Benjamin Smith is the driving force behind the organization providing that life raft. Southern Word is a literacy program that serves both local and regional youths, especially those from underprivileged communities and schools. After relocating to Music City from the Bay
Area at the beginning of 2007, Smith knew he wanted to use his background in youth development but was unsure how. Then acquaintance James Kaas, the founder of Youth Speaks — a national organization based in San Francisco and the earliest spoken-word program of its kind — put the idea in Smith’s head to start a similar initiative in Nashville. At the time there were no spoken-word programs for youths in the area. Just over a year later, in June 2008, Smith started a not-for-profit group under the heading Youth Speaks Nashville, which has since rebranded as Southern Word to reflect its ever-growing reach throughout the Southeast. By any name, Southern Word’s mission has remained the same: “offer creative solutions for youth to build literacy and presentation skills, reconnect to their education and to their lives, and act as leaders in the improvement of their communities.” So with that comes the question: What does spoken word have to do with education, literacy or leadership?
Well, according to Smith, everything. “Speaking is under-taught in schools,” he explained. “I don’t think we’ve ever taught people to speak well, which is odd considering freedom of speech is one of our most cherished freedoms.” But it’s more than learning to speak, he says — it’s also learning to write, and learning through those skills how to be your true self. “A lot of high school kids believe that they are who they’re going to be for the rest of their lives, like that’s their essential identity,“ Smith said. As adults, we know this to be false, but for many adolescents — especially those who don’t think they have the luxury of boundless opportunities like some of their peers — this idea can be a roadblock toward a brighter future. Through programming like in-school residencies, open-mic nights, after-school workshops and showcases, Southern Word helps to remove that roadblock and pave the way toward a new path. In essence, paving that path is the impetus
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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TODDCOUNTER 615.500.8180
todd@landscapeTN.com
Rashad “thaPoet” Rayford, poet mentor for Southern Word, reads at the P-O-E-T-H-O-N at Five Points.
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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
and exciting outlet in which to express their intelligence, building upon two of the most important skills any person can have: writing and speaking. Educators who’ve joined forces with Southern Word and worked with these programs firsthand have reported convincing evidence of greater confidence among their students, both socially and academically. “Learning the art of spoken word gives so many youths a chance to lock into their aptitudes in a way that helps carry them forward, in school and in life,” Smith said. He does want to make one thing clear, however, “We’re not trying to turn them into poets. We don’t really care if they become poets or not, because very few people go on to actually make a living from it. At the end of the day, our hope is that they’re left with a college education and the ability to care about and be engaged with the world.” As it turns out, most of Southern Word’s core students — those who really get involved — do go on to college, Smith said. In fact, the group is currently working on tracking youth through college in conjunction with the Tennessee College Access and Success Network as part of their continuing evolution. The plan is to follow a group of former students and track their writing at the college level. In turn, they’ll shoot videos and take those back to show middle and high school students who might think college isn’t for them. “I think the messenger for education has to be a little different for these kids. It has to be something more emotional,” Smith said. “They need to see someone who is like them, someone they can relate to, who is going to
March | April 2013
college in order to shift their own direction. And I definitely see that happening through spoken word.” With so much evolving outreach, however, the issue of raising funds is a continuous process for Southern Word, as any growing non-profit knows. Currently, they receive grants from numerous groups like the Metro Nashville Arts Commission, the Tennessee Arts Commission and The Community Foundation, among others. Additionally, a large portion of their funding comes from earned income. All of it goes toward putting on the programs in schools, holding openmic nights and most importantly, toward the three major showcases they hold each year in preparation for the national slam festival, Brave New Voices. This year, that festival will be held July 14-19 in Chicago. The team that will represent Southern Word will be chosen in a series of local competitions, starting with the first Semi-Final Slam on March 8 at the Frist. The second Semi-Final Slam at TPAC follows on April 12. Ultimately, six winners will be crowned at the Finals at TSU on April 13. Perhaps what makes Smith most proud is seeing young people who start out timid and shy, who can barely read a piece in front of five people; who then, through determination and hard work, go on to perform before hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people. “It demonstrates that this is something that is learned,” he said. “Seeing these kids come out of themselves, regardless of who they are, when they commit themselves fully to putting their whole presence out there, it’s just really beautiful to watch.”
700 Church St. Unit 405 Nashville, TN 37203 landscapeTN.com
LANDSCAPE
solu+ ons
organic garden maintenance • environmental landscape design & installation • landscape renovation & clean-up • residential master planning • rain gardens • native planting
photo courtesy byBenjamin Smith
for the organization’s continued growth. Last year alone, Southern Word served more than 4,400 students in Davidson, Rutherford, Williamson and Shelby counties through in-school programs and is looking to branch out further into East Tennessee and beyond. In Nashville, there’s a core group of about 75 high school students that meet every Thursday at the downtown public library to participate in after-school workshops. These students have performed for crowds of 5,000-plus, and their YouTube page boasts over 50,000 views, which is an important piece in the group’s objective, according to Smith. “As much as the program is about serving kids and teaching them, so much of youth identity is based on their consumption of mass media and who they see in mass media,” he said, “and we feel like there’s a lot of opportunity in projecting more positive, literate and educated images of young people that are compelling.” Unfortunately, typical role models for so many of the students from high schools like Hunter’s Lane, Maplewood and Stratford are the hard partying, heavily tattooed, vulgarity-slinging rappers, Smith explained. They see the money and excess represented in music videos, and, more often than not, their dreams become directed toward unrealistic goals. It bears mentioning that for many children in these situations, the peer pressure to be apathetic and disengaged at school is immense, hampering the mindfulness needed for effective participation in the classroom. Through alternatives like spoken-word programs, they are given a more interesting
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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TODDCOUNTER 615.500.8180
todd@landscapeTN.com
Rashad “thaPoet” Rayford, poet mentor for Southern Word, reads at the P-O-E-T-H-O-N at Five Points.
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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
and exciting outlet in which to express their intelligence, building upon two of the most important skills any person can have: writing and speaking. Educators who’ve joined forces with Southern Word and worked with these programs firsthand have reported convincing evidence of greater confidence among their students, both socially and academically. “Learning the art of spoken word gives so many youths a chance to lock into their aptitudes in a way that helps carry them forward, in school and in life,” Smith said. He does want to make one thing clear, however, “We’re not trying to turn them into poets. We don’t really care if they become poets or not, because very few people go on to actually make a living from it. At the end of the day, our hope is that they’re left with a college education and the ability to care about and be engaged with the world.” As it turns out, most of Southern Word’s core students — those who really get involved — do go on to college, Smith said. In fact, the group is currently working on tracking youth through college in conjunction with the Tennessee College Access and Success Network as part of their continuing evolution. The plan is to follow a group of former students and track their writing at the college level. In turn, they’ll shoot videos and take those back to show middle and high school students who might think college isn’t for them. “I think the messenger for education has to be a little different for these kids. It has to be something more emotional,” Smith said. “They need to see someone who is like them, someone they can relate to, who is going to
March | April 2013
college in order to shift their own direction. And I definitely see that happening through spoken word.” With so much evolving outreach, however, the issue of raising funds is a continuous process for Southern Word, as any growing non-profit knows. Currently, they receive grants from numerous groups like the Metro Nashville Arts Commission, the Tennessee Arts Commission and The Community Foundation, among others. Additionally, a large portion of their funding comes from earned income. All of it goes toward putting on the programs in schools, holding openmic nights and most importantly, toward the three major showcases they hold each year in preparation for the national slam festival, Brave New Voices. This year, that festival will be held July 14-19 in Chicago. The team that will represent Southern Word will be chosen in a series of local competitions, starting with the first Semi-Final Slam on March 8 at the Frist. The second Semi-Final Slam at TPAC follows on April 12. Ultimately, six winners will be crowned at the Finals at TSU on April 13. Perhaps what makes Smith most proud is seeing young people who start out timid and shy, who can barely read a piece in front of five people; who then, through determination and hard work, go on to perform before hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people. “It demonstrates that this is something that is learned,” he said. “Seeing these kids come out of themselves, regardless of who they are, when they commit themselves fully to putting their whole presence out there, it’s just really beautiful to watch.”
700 Church St. Unit 405 Nashville, TN 37203 landscapeTN.com
LANDSCAPE
solu+ ons
organic garden maintenance • environmental landscape design & installation • landscape renovation & clean-up • residential master planning • rain gardens • native planting
photo courtesy byBenjamin Smith
for the organization’s continued growth. Last year alone, Southern Word served more than 4,400 students in Davidson, Rutherford, Williamson and Shelby counties through in-school programs and is looking to branch out further into East Tennessee and beyond. In Nashville, there’s a core group of about 75 high school students that meet every Thursday at the downtown public library to participate in after-school workshops. These students have performed for crowds of 5,000-plus, and their YouTube page boasts over 50,000 views, which is an important piece in the group’s objective, according to Smith. “As much as the program is about serving kids and teaching them, so much of youth identity is based on their consumption of mass media and who they see in mass media,” he said, “and we feel like there’s a lot of opportunity in projecting more positive, literate and educated images of young people that are compelling.” Unfortunately, typical role models for so many of the students from high schools like Hunter’s Lane, Maplewood and Stratford are the hard partying, heavily tattooed, vulgarity-slinging rappers, Smith explained. They see the money and excess represented in music videos, and, more often than not, their dreams become directed toward unrealistic goals. It bears mentioning that for many children in these situations, the peer pressure to be apathetic and disengaged at school is immense, hampering the mindfulness needed for effective participation in the classroom. Through alternatives like spoken-word programs, they are given a more interesting
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photo courtesy of serpants and snakes
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photo courtesy of serpants and snakes
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Photos courtesy of serpants and snakes
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March | April 2013
hey hail from the Deep South. They have long hair, dirty boots, lots of cats and plenty to say. They also know how to make a lot of noise and get a crowd moving. Sludge-rockers The Weeks have been cutting their teeth in the music scene in Nashville for more than two years now, but playing shows and writing music isn’t anything new for these boys. They’ve got seven years together, three albums and hundreds of shows under their belt. And there is more music on the way, with their next album, Dear Bo Jackson, set for release April 30 under Kings of Leon’s Serpents and Snakes label. The band is made up of Mississippi boys from Jackson: Sam Williams (guitar), Damien Bone (bass), and twin brothers Cyle (vocals) and Cain (drums) Barnes. New addition Alex Collier now bangs it on the keys each show. The guys teamed up to form the band back in 2006, when most kids their age were worried about taking trendy MySpace profile pics and securing a driver’s permit. At that time, they’d all been going to shows where they were the youngest bucks in the crowd. At one of those shows, Cain hooked up with another Jackson kid named Chaz Lindsay, the band’s former rhythm guitar player, and they dreamed up the idea of putting together a band. “Within the weekend, we found out Cain had a twin brother Cyle who could sing. We wrote our first songs on March 3, had a five- or six-song set by the weekend and played our first show at WC Dons, the best dive bar in America, that we wrote ‘The House That We Grew Up In’ about,” said Williams. Spending their formative years in Mississippi has definitely had its impact on the band’s music, which is hard to pin down to any one sound or genre. “Most of our influences stem from Mississippi in one way or another. A sludgier interpretation of the R&B/blues tunes on the Delta AM radio stations,” said Williams. They also feel they owe some of their sound to The Band, a staple for the boys since their childhood. Williams said, “We’ve always appreciated how they’re all virtuosos on their instruments, but if the song doesn’t call for anything but single whole notes, that’s all they played. They had a lot of respect for the song and that’s always been our primary concern.” Williams, the youngest, has been practicing his axe skills for some time now, and it shows. He grew up immersed in music from an early age, with a father who was a member of the Locust Fork band from Alabama. “I ended up taking some music theory from an incredible professor and learned about the math of music, but everything my pops taught me has ended up being more useful. The theory side of music can get too formulaic really fast, when really it’s just about what sounds good. Sometimes that means a lot of trial and error, but it gets me playing guitar four or five hours a day.” Williams’ style continually stands out — he
lays down intricate guitar parts without losing sight of the irresistibly catchy hooks that draw some fans toward Weeks’ songs. Bringing up the rhythm section, Cain and Bone are both standout musicians as well. Cain is entirely self-taught; he started banging on the drums at the age of 12 when he received his first drum set. Bone studied jazz and upright/double bass at Belhaven College (now University — fancy!) in Jackson, and has one of the best two-step dances you’ll ever see a bassist execute on stage while slappin’ it. The two share some of the best stage chemistry this side of the Mason-Dixon. The addition of Collier, who has played piano and organ for years, really helps to round it all out, explained Williams. “Having Admiral around is amazing; he really adds so much texture that fills in all the gaps of a power trio.” The band isn’t just paving new roads with their hybrid sound; it’s important to note that they also stand out lyrically. Many of Cyle’s verses effectively carry the fate of this uncertain world on his shoulders, with the simultaneous eloquence and grit of some of the Beat Generation’s poets — who Cyle cites as a major influence in his writing. He writes boldly, with images and symbolism forged out of his own life and a struggling world at large. He’s writing lines and verses that aren’t synonymous with the majority of today’s twentysomething songwriters. Needless to say, there are no “Call Me Maybe” lines in Weeks framework. During those first few years as a band in Jackson, The Weeks played shows every weekend and developed quite the following for being so young. Heck, they were playing clubs they couldn’t even legally enter yet. Eventually, they were picked up by a local label, Esperanza Plantation, which funneled an immeasurable
amount of support and promotion into many of the bands The Weeks grew up listening to in their hometown. Esperanza had become a staple of the Jackson music scene, so naturally when they became the youngest band signed to the label they were ecstatic about the opportunity it presented. They say they are forever grateful for the support that Chaney Nichols, owner of Esperanza, has given them. Cyle said, “Chaney is one of those guys that, as a band, you hope to meet. He gave us so much support when we needed it the most and never asked for anything in return. You’d be hard pressed to find a more genuine, selfless guy, especially in the music business.”
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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Photos courtesy of serpants and snakes
T
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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
hey hail from the Deep South. They have long hair, dirty boots, lots of cats and plenty to say. They also know how to make a lot of noise and get a crowd moving. Sludge-rockers The Weeks have been cutting their teeth in the music scene in Nashville for more than two years now, but playing shows and writing music isn’t anything new for these boys. They’ve got seven years together, three albums and hundreds of shows under their belt. And there is more music on the way, with their next album, Dear Bo Jackson, set for release April 30 under Kings of Leon’s Serpents and Snakes label. The band is made up of Mississippi boys from Jackson: Sam Williams (guitar), Damien Bone (bass), and twin brothers Cyle (vocals) and Cain (drums) Barnes. New addition Alex Collier now bangs it on the keys each show. The guys teamed up to form the band back in 2006, when most kids their age were worried about taking trendy MySpace profile pics and securing a driver’s permit. At that time, they’d all been going to shows where they were the youngest bucks in the crowd. At one of those shows, Cain hooked up with another Jackson kid named Chaz Lindsay, the band’s former rhythm guitar player, and they dreamed up the idea of putting together a band. “Within the weekend, we found out Cain had a twin brother Cyle who could sing. We wrote our first songs on March 3, had a five- or six-song set by the weekend and played our first show at WC Dons, the best dive bar in America, that we wrote ‘The House That We Grew Up In’ about,” said Williams. Spending their formative years in Mississippi has definitely had its impact on the band’s music, which is hard to pin down to any one sound or genre. “Most of our influences stem from Mississippi in one way or another. A sludgier interpretation of the R&B/blues tunes on the Delta AM radio stations,” said Williams. They also feel they owe some of their sound to The Band, a staple for the boys since their childhood. Williams said, “We’ve always appreciated how they’re all virtuosos on their instruments, but if the song doesn’t call for anything but single whole notes, that’s all they played. They had a lot of respect for the song and that’s always been our primary concern.” Williams, the youngest, has been practicing his axe skills for some time now, and it shows. He grew up immersed in music from an early age, with a father who was a member of the Locust Fork band from Alabama. “I ended up taking some music theory from an incredible professor and learned about the math of music, but everything my pops taught me has ended up being more useful. The theory side of music can get too formulaic really fast, when really it’s just about what sounds good. Sometimes that means a lot of trial and error, but it gets me playing guitar four or five hours a day.” Williams’ style continually stands out — he
lays down intricate guitar parts without losing sight of the irresistibly catchy hooks that draw some fans toward Weeks’ songs. Bringing up the rhythm section, Cain and Bone are both standout musicians as well. Cain is entirely self-taught; he started banging on the drums at the age of 12 when he received his first drum set. Bone studied jazz and upright/double bass at Belhaven College (now University — fancy!) in Jackson, and has one of the best two-step dances you’ll ever see a bassist execute on stage while slappin’ it. The two share some of the best stage chemistry this side of the Mason-Dixon. The addition of Collier, who has played piano and organ for years, really helps to round it all out, explained Williams. “Having Admiral around is amazing; he really adds so much texture that fills in all the gaps of a power trio.” The band isn’t just paving new roads with their hybrid sound; it’s important to note that they also stand out lyrically. Many of Cyle’s verses effectively carry the fate of this uncertain world on his shoulders, with the simultaneous eloquence and grit of some of the Beat Generation’s poets — who Cyle cites as a major influence in his writing. He writes boldly, with images and symbolism forged out of his own life and a struggling world at large. He’s writing lines and verses that aren’t synonymous with the majority of today’s twentysomething songwriters. Needless to say, there are no “Call Me Maybe” lines in Weeks framework. During those first few years as a band in Jackson, The Weeks played shows every weekend and developed quite the following for being so young. Heck, they were playing clubs they couldn’t even legally enter yet. Eventually, they were picked up by a local label, Esperanza Plantation, which funneled an immeasurable
amount of support and promotion into many of the bands The Weeks grew up listening to in their hometown. Esperanza had become a staple of the Jackson music scene, so naturally when they became the youngest band signed to the label they were ecstatic about the opportunity it presented. They say they are forever grateful for the support that Chaney Nichols, owner of Esperanza, has given them. Cyle said, “Chaney is one of those guys that, as a band, you hope to meet. He gave us so much support when we needed it the most and never asked for anything in return. You’d be hard pressed to find a more genuine, selfless guy, especially in the music business.”
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
33
As a token of their appreciation, the band dedicated the re-release of their last album, Gutter Gaunt Gangster, to Nichols’ newborn daughter last fall. Fast forward a few years to 2010, when The Weeks decided to pack up and leave the fertile soil of the Crooked-letter State to head to Nashville. The guys now reside in East Nasty, where they can be seen making their daily journey to Portland Brew for a Red Eye or caught having a whiskey and coke at 5 Spot’s weekly pickin’ party. Despite leaving their home, the guys remain firmly rooted in the Southern soil — and it looks like the change in longitude was the right call. In the past two years they’ve toured with national acts like Local H, Meat Puppets and some bluesy boys from their home state, the North Mississippi Allstars. Williams said, “Touring with those bands has been really motivating. Those dudes have been doing this for decades and have an infinite amount of knowledge about touring, recording, keeping your relationships with your bandmates on good grounds for years. As a guitar player, Scott [Local H], Kurt [Meat Puppets] and Luther [Allstars] are legends. I watched them from 10 feet away every night and just tried to soak up as much as I could.” In the last year, The Weeks have continued kicking up dust and creating buzz on the music circuit. They flew across the pond for their first UK tour last October, and they’ll return this summer for a few shows opening for Kings of Leon. “The UK was strange, dropping a few boys from Mississippi in London,” Cyle said. “It was crazy meeting people who knew the band so far from home … . It just made me really excited for the future.” The Weeks are also on the bill for Hangout Festival in Gulf Shores this summer and they’ll stop in at South
by Southwest this March to play a handful of shows. Last spring the music video for “The House That We Grew Up In” debuted on Rolling Stone’s website. “Having them debut the video was incredible. We only found out about it a day or two before it happened, so that was a nice surprise,” said Williams. “We have a few band tattoos and decided that day would be a good one to get another at Trick or Treat on Greenwood and Porter by our homie, Captain Morgan.” The video premiered on a Friday the 13th, so the band appropriately all inked up with individual number 13 tattoos. The Weeks showed Rolling Stone they know how to party again this winter, when their
Kings of Leon. The new deal has been a fruitful one, explained Cyle, “We love those guys and they have made us feel right at home. You can’t really ask for a better situation than having friends as the owners of your band’s label.” After re-releasing their last album, Gutter Gaunt Gangster, they sat down to record a new LP in Nashville with Paul Moak, a fellow ‘Sippi boy. Dear Bo Jackson was different from the band’s previous albums, which were all recorded in a week or less in tiny studios in North Mississippi. This go-around they spent months writing the album and had ample studio time with Moak to produce it. Williams said, “Being in Nashville, all of our friends are so talented that we would just cook a ton of wings and invite them all down to sing or play or whatever they wanted to do. Bucky Baxter dropped by one day and laid down some pedal steel on ‘Gobi Blues’ and ‘King-sized Death Bed.’ Johnny Fritz came and pitched in on a tune. Between that and horns, all kinds of pump organs and backup singers, this record is a much more full version of The Weeks.” With more studio time, resources, and support, the band has been fleshing out their sound, which has them pumped for the April 30 release date. Cyle said, “As a band I think we have grown a lot and think that shows in DBJ [Dear Bo Jackson]. The past two years have been wild as far as moving and touring and we have had some really hard times with some of our friends and family and I think that shows up a little on this album. To me, it’s just the next chapter and I’m excited to see where it goes.” Wherever that next chapter takes them, these boys will continue to kick out the jams, each show rowdier than the one before it, and they promise to always be better than the weekends.
“The Weeks are greater than success or failure. We are a family and it would take a hell of a lot to slow us down.”
34
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
show at the Mercury Lounge in Manhattan made it into the mag’s Hottest Live Photos of the Year. They even made their first TV debut on “The Artie Lange Show” and managed to make the front page of The Tennessean as one of the “13 to watch in 2013.” Cyle said, “You always want some bit of success in any sense of the word and after seven years it’s a little hard to take in. We are just taking it as it comes and are excited for the future. As strange as it sounds, I think The Weeks are greater than success or failure. We are a family and it would take a hell of a lot to slow us down.” In early 2012, The Weeks signed on to Serpents and Snakes, the brainchild label of
March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
35
As a token of their appreciation, the band dedicated the re-release of their last album, Gutter Gaunt Gangster, to Nichols’ newborn daughter last fall. Fast forward a few years to 2010, when The Weeks decided to pack up and leave the fertile soil of the Crooked-letter State to head to Nashville. The guys now reside in East Nasty, where they can be seen making their daily journey to Portland Brew for a Red Eye or caught having a whiskey and coke at 5 Spot’s weekly pickin’ party. Despite leaving their home, the guys remain firmly rooted in the Southern soil — and it looks like the change in longitude was the right call. In the past two years they’ve toured with national acts like Local H, Meat Puppets and some bluesy boys from their home state, the North Mississippi Allstars. Williams said, “Touring with those bands has been really motivating. Those dudes have been doing this for decades and have an infinite amount of knowledge about touring, recording, keeping your relationships with your bandmates on good grounds for years. As a guitar player, Scott [Local H], Kurt [Meat Puppets] and Luther [Allstars] are legends. I watched them from 10 feet away every night and just tried to soak up as much as I could.” In the last year, The Weeks have continued kicking up dust and creating buzz on the music circuit. They flew across the pond for their first UK tour last October, and they’ll return this summer for a few shows opening for Kings of Leon. “The UK was strange, dropping a few boys from Mississippi in London,” Cyle said. “It was crazy meeting people who knew the band so far from home … . It just made me really excited for the future.” The Weeks are also on the bill for Hangout Festival in Gulf Shores this summer and they’ll stop in at South
by Southwest this March to play a handful of shows. Last spring the music video for “The House That We Grew Up In” debuted on Rolling Stone’s website. “Having them debut the video was incredible. We only found out about it a day or two before it happened, so that was a nice surprise,” said Williams. “We have a few band tattoos and decided that day would be a good one to get another at Trick or Treat on Greenwood and Porter by our homie, Captain Morgan.” The video premiered on a Friday the 13th, so the band appropriately all inked up with individual number 13 tattoos. The Weeks showed Rolling Stone they know how to party again this winter, when their
Kings of Leon. The new deal has been a fruitful one, explained Cyle, “We love those guys and they have made us feel right at home. You can’t really ask for a better situation than having friends as the owners of your band’s label.” After re-releasing their last album, Gutter Gaunt Gangster, they sat down to record a new LP in Nashville with Paul Moak, a fellow ‘Sippi boy. Dear Bo Jackson was different from the band’s previous albums, which were all recorded in a week or less in tiny studios in North Mississippi. This go-around they spent months writing the album and had ample studio time with Moak to produce it. Williams said, “Being in Nashville, all of our friends are so talented that we would just cook a ton of wings and invite them all down to sing or play or whatever they wanted to do. Bucky Baxter dropped by one day and laid down some pedal steel on ‘Gobi Blues’ and ‘King-sized Death Bed.’ Johnny Fritz came and pitched in on a tune. Between that and horns, all kinds of pump organs and backup singers, this record is a much more full version of The Weeks.” With more studio time, resources, and support, the band has been fleshing out their sound, which has them pumped for the April 30 release date. Cyle said, “As a band I think we have grown a lot and think that shows in DBJ [Dear Bo Jackson]. The past two years have been wild as far as moving and touring and we have had some really hard times with some of our friends and family and I think that shows up a little on this album. To me, it’s just the next chapter and I’m excited to see where it goes.” Wherever that next chapter takes them, these boys will continue to kick out the jams, each show rowdier than the one before it, and they promise to always be better than the weekends.
“The Weeks are greater than success or failure. We are a family and it would take a hell of a lot to slow us down.”
34
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
show at the Mercury Lounge in Manhattan made it into the mag’s Hottest Live Photos of the Year. They even made their first TV debut on “The Artie Lange Show” and managed to make the front page of The Tennessean as one of the “13 to watch in 2013.” Cyle said, “You always want some bit of success in any sense of the word and after seven years it’s a little hard to take in. We are just taking it as it comes and are excited for the future. As strange as it sounds, I think The Weeks are greater than success or failure. We are a family and it would take a hell of a lot to slow us down.” In early 2012, The Weeks signed on to Serpents and Snakes, the brainchild label of
March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
35
15
years later A
t around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, 1998, an F3
tornado, with maximum sustained winds nearing 200 MPH,
swept through Nashville. The twister, which formed near
Charlotte Pike and 46th Avenue, took a near direct path through the downtown area. It then hopped the Cumberland River and continued its path of destruction in East Nashville; it moved steadily eastward before finally lifting near Hartsville, TN. Hundreds of homes were damaged in East Nashville alone, and estimates place the total cost of the damage at over $100 million. That the tornado was a transformative event for the communities on the East Side is now an accepted fact. A lesser-known aspect of this transformation is what took place behind the scenes in the wake of the tornado. How did the actions of government officials, community leaders and everyday citizens help shape the East Nashville of today? What is it about the spirit of our community that allowed it to prevail? For our cover feature we’ve invited three East Nashvillians to share their perspectives in the hopes of answering these questions.
36
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
37
15
years later A
t around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 16, 1998, an F3
tornado, with maximum sustained winds nearing 200 MPH,
swept through Nashville. The twister, which formed near
Charlotte Pike and 46th Avenue, took a near direct path through the downtown area. It then hopped the Cumberland River and continued its path of destruction in East Nashville; it moved steadily eastward before finally lifting near Hartsville, TN. Hundreds of homes were damaged in East Nashville alone, and estimates place the total cost of the damage at over $100 million. That the tornado was a transformative event for the communities on the East Side is now an accepted fact. A lesser-known aspect of this transformation is what took place behind the scenes in the wake of the tornado. How did the actions of government officials, community leaders and everyday citizens help shape the East Nashville of today? What is it about the spirit of our community that allowed it to prevail? For our cover feature we’ve invited three East Nashvillians to share their perspectives in the hopes of answering these questions.
36
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
37
What makes us stronger:
centuries. Historic zoning and conservation zoning, neighborhood crime suppression and more constant attention to codes had affirmed the belief that neighborhoods could protect themselves and improve quality of life. The assault of the tornado focused Nashville’s attention for a time on us all. The memory it created was of a place more special, more vital and more attractive than most of the city remembered or perhaps ever knew. That memory has been indelible and continues to this day. East Nashville was neither destroyed nor saved by the tornado. We were, in some ways, reaffirmed in our commitment to what we were doing and would need to keep doing to make our neighborhoods what we had dreamed they could be: safe on every corner, served by good
A reflection By Bill Purcell
F
system collapsed. For the next hour I had no information about my family, my neighbors or my neighborhood. For all of us, it was a dark and increasingly frightening night. By the time I made it home I knew at least that my loved ones were safe but in the dark, and we still had no clear sense of what had happened. As the neighborhood gathered in the street we were cheered by our own presence — and scared nearly senseless by the unknown. In the days that followed, we learned not only the full extent of the damage and loss, but how lucky and blessed we were. We also came to appreciate our neighbors and neighborhood in new and very personal ways. Everyone pitched in, chain saws appeared, as did people from all over Tennessee who just wanted to help — and they did. We discovered all over again what our neighborhood meant to us. And the city understood, many for the first time, how special the people and the place were. Every report reinforced the basic importance of community. The assault on the built environment was the lead in every story. But always close behind was the way the people of the neighborhood came
together to support one another, to celebrate survival of what was most dear, and to cry about what was lost. In the days ahead, much of the rest of Nashville went back to business and life as usual. There were moments during the year that followed when the pain returned, the things lost again front of mind, and our memories no longer shared in the balance of the city where nothing had much changed. But in the years that have followed it has been apparent that the rest of our city had, through those days, understood why East Nashville had survived and prevailed through any and all natural and human disasters during the 20th century. Two tornadoes, a massive fire, urban neglect, school decline and the rise of crime had not overcome the intrinsic value of the place and the people who had lived there all along and the people who had joined them. The neighborhood movement that had started and flourished here was a result of no assault or threat and did not arise from disaster. It came from a shared desire nearly a generation before to protect what was and is so good and so special about the place and the people East Nashville nurtured through two
38
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
and housing and infrastructure and the built environment. The sirens were a direct result of the tornado. The rest came about because the neighborhoods of East Nashville had long before understood — and then shared — what was most important to the success of the city and the lives of the people for whom it was created. Bill Purcell was mayor of Nashville for two consecutive terms, from 1999 - 2007. A graduate of Vanderbilt Law School, Purcell went on to serve five terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives. He currently lives with his family in the Lockeland Springs neighborhood and continues practicing law.
If you build it...
How a tornado sparked East Nashville’s economic resurrection By Dan Heller
I
Photos by beth odle
rom Philadelphia, my father called my office at Vanderbilt to tell me CNN had reported a tornado alert for Nashville. My staff told him I was in a meeting and could not be disturbed. In the meeting we watched the trees outside bend in ways we had never seen. As we stood increasingly closer to the window, we saw a limb fly off and land on a colleague’s car. Someone remarked how unusual this was. On the other side of West End a student was killed when the tree under which he sought cover fell over. Minutes later, the tornado struck our neighborhood. We did not know about the loss of life or what lay ahead for East Nashville; we just stood at the window and wondered. At the same time, my wife and daughter were driving away from our home on Holly Street for ballet class. They noticed the wind, but took no notice of the tornado. As the full extent of the storm became known, they started back home, but only made it as far as the H.G. Hill on Gallatin Road. The roads were blocked, night was falling, and it became apparent that the lights were all out. They decided to walk the mile to our home. That was the last cell phone contact I had as the communication
schools, graced by inspiring churches and rich with green spaces, connected by sidewalks, greenways and bike lanes. And protected by a city that now understood that we knew what we had and we would always protect it and everyone here. No natural disaster had ever changed that, and no tornado could either. East Nashville was and is too old and too young and too committed to what we are and dream to be. An enduring and very personal commitment of which a day in April 1998 is simply a reminder. The next year there was a mayoral election. We soon installed tornado sirens in public spaces across the city. An office of neighborhoods was created, and a new commitment was made to parks and sidewalks and schools
n the days following the 1998 tornado, few in Nashville — especially those in the devastated neighborhoods of East Nashville — would have felt anything but a profound sense of bewilderment, sadness and loss. I was not there when it hit, but I saw the aftermath. Thousands of trees uprooted, 1,200 homes, businesses and churches damaged or destroyed. Before the tornado, I had crossed the river only a handful of times. Like so many others living in other parts of town, I didn’t exactly see the East Side as a desirable destination, let alone a place to start a business or call home. Ignored for decades by many new homebuyers and most investors other than slumlords, the east bank of the Cumberland suffered from an abundance of ramshackle properties, drugs and crime. And even though prior to the storm a few new businesses had opened and many important community improvement projects were underway, economic progress remained slow. The tornado changed all that. In the 15 years since the storm, that profound sense of bewilderment, sadness and loss has faded; it’s been washed away by hard work, new memories and time. Abandoned land and the damaged and dilapidated buildings have been replaced with trendy shops and dining destinations in places called Walden, 5 Points and Riverside Village. Nashville overall has become the “it” city, lauded by a national press invariably spotlighting the artsy and eclectic East Side as the new hotspot to enjoy historic
architecture, music, art galleries, nationally known restaurants and cool bars. For all its fury in tearing things apart, the tornado — for the first time in many decades — built a bridge across the Cumberland and brought our entire city together. The specifics of how and why the tornado spurred these changes involve interrelated social, financial, governmental and market-driven factors, plus the applied leadership and vision of a handful of community activists, decision-makers and risk-takers. However, East Nashville’s resurrection from its economic rubble after the tornado resulted from the rapid, focused and sustained infusion of capital into the marketplace. It happened like this: The tornado damaged or destroyed many homes and businesses in East Nashville, large numbers of which were slumlord-owned and decades overdue for repairs. Some property owners took their insurance payouts and reinvested in patch-ups and improvements. Others pocketed the money and sold to new owners. This first major flow of new money into so many East Side properties, many of which would have otherwise remained stagnant, visibly improved the area, inspired optimism and catalyzed additional investment. Greer Carr, a Farmer’s Insurance agent active in the area then and now, put it this way: “The tornado set off a chain reaction that resulted in one of the largest urban renewal projects in our city’s history. The insurance claims had a huge impact.” Terry Cobb, Davidson County Codes
Administrator, agrees. “Suddenly millions of dollars in insurance money was paid and turned a negative into a positive.” Indeed, according to the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, a citywide total of $175 million in insurance payouts flooded into Nashville, a substantial but undetermined portion of which flowed to the East Side. Additionally, the dot-com crash soon after the tornado caused many investors to shift their investments from securities to more tangible assets like gold and real estate. This trend, combined with record low interest rates and loose borrowing terms from banks brought more homebuyers, rehabbers and still more capital. Unfortunately, all this economic activity didn’t have positive results for everyone. The inevitable consequence of a relatively rapid and strengthening economic transformation meant that while property changed hands and new people moved in, many longtime residents moved out. As home values and taxes increased, the benchmark for “affordable” housing increased as well, pricing many out of the market. While the increasing flow of capital pushed property improvements and increased confidence that more long-desired progress lay ahead, intentional decisions by commercial developers to attract new kinds of businesses — rather than simply leasing to status quotype businesses — had a big impact on East Nashville’s retail services, quality of life and overall neighborhood culture. March Egerton, unquestionably the most
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
39
What makes us stronger:
centuries. Historic zoning and conservation zoning, neighborhood crime suppression and more constant attention to codes had affirmed the belief that neighborhoods could protect themselves and improve quality of life. The assault of the tornado focused Nashville’s attention for a time on us all. The memory it created was of a place more special, more vital and more attractive than most of the city remembered or perhaps ever knew. That memory has been indelible and continues to this day. East Nashville was neither destroyed nor saved by the tornado. We were, in some ways, reaffirmed in our commitment to what we were doing and would need to keep doing to make our neighborhoods what we had dreamed they could be: safe on every corner, served by good
A reflection By Bill Purcell
F
system collapsed. For the next hour I had no information about my family, my neighbors or my neighborhood. For all of us, it was a dark and increasingly frightening night. By the time I made it home I knew at least that my loved ones were safe but in the dark, and we still had no clear sense of what had happened. As the neighborhood gathered in the street we were cheered by our own presence — and scared nearly senseless by the unknown. In the days that followed, we learned not only the full extent of the damage and loss, but how lucky and blessed we were. We also came to appreciate our neighbors and neighborhood in new and very personal ways. Everyone pitched in, chain saws appeared, as did people from all over Tennessee who just wanted to help — and they did. We discovered all over again what our neighborhood meant to us. And the city understood, many for the first time, how special the people and the place were. Every report reinforced the basic importance of community. The assault on the built environment was the lead in every story. But always close behind was the way the people of the neighborhood came
together to support one another, to celebrate survival of what was most dear, and to cry about what was lost. In the days ahead, much of the rest of Nashville went back to business and life as usual. There were moments during the year that followed when the pain returned, the things lost again front of mind, and our memories no longer shared in the balance of the city where nothing had much changed. But in the years that have followed it has been apparent that the rest of our city had, through those days, understood why East Nashville had survived and prevailed through any and all natural and human disasters during the 20th century. Two tornadoes, a massive fire, urban neglect, school decline and the rise of crime had not overcome the intrinsic value of the place and the people who had lived there all along and the people who had joined them. The neighborhood movement that had started and flourished here was a result of no assault or threat and did not arise from disaster. It came from a shared desire nearly a generation before to protect what was and is so good and so special about the place and the people East Nashville nurtured through two
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March | April 2013
and housing and infrastructure and the built environment. The sirens were a direct result of the tornado. The rest came about because the neighborhoods of East Nashville had long before understood — and then shared — what was most important to the success of the city and the lives of the people for whom it was created. Bill Purcell was mayor of Nashville for two consecutive terms, from 1999 - 2007. A graduate of Vanderbilt Law School, Purcell went on to serve five terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives. He currently lives with his family in the Lockeland Springs neighborhood and continues practicing law.
If you build it...
How a tornado sparked East Nashville’s economic resurrection By Dan Heller
I
Photos by beth odle
rom Philadelphia, my father called my office at Vanderbilt to tell me CNN had reported a tornado alert for Nashville. My staff told him I was in a meeting and could not be disturbed. In the meeting we watched the trees outside bend in ways we had never seen. As we stood increasingly closer to the window, we saw a limb fly off and land on a colleague’s car. Someone remarked how unusual this was. On the other side of West End a student was killed when the tree under which he sought cover fell over. Minutes later, the tornado struck our neighborhood. We did not know about the loss of life or what lay ahead for East Nashville; we just stood at the window and wondered. At the same time, my wife and daughter were driving away from our home on Holly Street for ballet class. They noticed the wind, but took no notice of the tornado. As the full extent of the storm became known, they started back home, but only made it as far as the H.G. Hill on Gallatin Road. The roads were blocked, night was falling, and it became apparent that the lights were all out. They decided to walk the mile to our home. That was the last cell phone contact I had as the communication
schools, graced by inspiring churches and rich with green spaces, connected by sidewalks, greenways and bike lanes. And protected by a city that now understood that we knew what we had and we would always protect it and everyone here. No natural disaster had ever changed that, and no tornado could either. East Nashville was and is too old and too young and too committed to what we are and dream to be. An enduring and very personal commitment of which a day in April 1998 is simply a reminder. The next year there was a mayoral election. We soon installed tornado sirens in public spaces across the city. An office of neighborhoods was created, and a new commitment was made to parks and sidewalks and schools
n the days following the 1998 tornado, few in Nashville — especially those in the devastated neighborhoods of East Nashville — would have felt anything but a profound sense of bewilderment, sadness and loss. I was not there when it hit, but I saw the aftermath. Thousands of trees uprooted, 1,200 homes, businesses and churches damaged or destroyed. Before the tornado, I had crossed the river only a handful of times. Like so many others living in other parts of town, I didn’t exactly see the East Side as a desirable destination, let alone a place to start a business or call home. Ignored for decades by many new homebuyers and most investors other than slumlords, the east bank of the Cumberland suffered from an abundance of ramshackle properties, drugs and crime. And even though prior to the storm a few new businesses had opened and many important community improvement projects were underway, economic progress remained slow. The tornado changed all that. In the 15 years since the storm, that profound sense of bewilderment, sadness and loss has faded; it’s been washed away by hard work, new memories and time. Abandoned land and the damaged and dilapidated buildings have been replaced with trendy shops and dining destinations in places called Walden, 5 Points and Riverside Village. Nashville overall has become the “it” city, lauded by a national press invariably spotlighting the artsy and eclectic East Side as the new hotspot to enjoy historic
architecture, music, art galleries, nationally known restaurants and cool bars. For all its fury in tearing things apart, the tornado — for the first time in many decades — built a bridge across the Cumberland and brought our entire city together. The specifics of how and why the tornado spurred these changes involve interrelated social, financial, governmental and market-driven factors, plus the applied leadership and vision of a handful of community activists, decision-makers and risk-takers. However, East Nashville’s resurrection from its economic rubble after the tornado resulted from the rapid, focused and sustained infusion of capital into the marketplace. It happened like this: The tornado damaged or destroyed many homes and businesses in East Nashville, large numbers of which were slumlord-owned and decades overdue for repairs. Some property owners took their insurance payouts and reinvested in patch-ups and improvements. Others pocketed the money and sold to new owners. This first major flow of new money into so many East Side properties, many of which would have otherwise remained stagnant, visibly improved the area, inspired optimism and catalyzed additional investment. Greer Carr, a Farmer’s Insurance agent active in the area then and now, put it this way: “The tornado set off a chain reaction that resulted in one of the largest urban renewal projects in our city’s history. The insurance claims had a huge impact.” Terry Cobb, Davidson County Codes
Administrator, agrees. “Suddenly millions of dollars in insurance money was paid and turned a negative into a positive.” Indeed, according to the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, a citywide total of $175 million in insurance payouts flooded into Nashville, a substantial but undetermined portion of which flowed to the East Side. Additionally, the dot-com crash soon after the tornado caused many investors to shift their investments from securities to more tangible assets like gold and real estate. This trend, combined with record low interest rates and loose borrowing terms from banks brought more homebuyers, rehabbers and still more capital. Unfortunately, all this economic activity didn’t have positive results for everyone. The inevitable consequence of a relatively rapid and strengthening economic transformation meant that while property changed hands and new people moved in, many longtime residents moved out. As home values and taxes increased, the benchmark for “affordable” housing increased as well, pricing many out of the market. While the increasing flow of capital pushed property improvements and increased confidence that more long-desired progress lay ahead, intentional decisions by commercial developers to attract new kinds of businesses — rather than simply leasing to status quotype businesses — had a big impact on East Nashville’s retail services, quality of life and overall neighborhood culture. March Egerton, unquestionably the most
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
39
17th St. and Eastland Ave.
Now home of Bryant Gallery on Woodland St.
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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
Photos: top, middle right and bottom by chuck allen Middle left by barbara brown.
Photos: top and middle left, by beth odle. Middle right chuck allen. bottom, by barbara brown.
Formerly Joe’s Diner on Eastland Ave.
1402 Ordway Place
Rosepepper present day
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
41
17th St. and Eastland Ave.
Now home of Bryant Gallery on Woodland St.
40
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
Photos: top, middle right and bottom by chuck allen Middle left by barbara brown.
Photos: top and middle left, by beth odle. Middle right chuck allen. bottom, by barbara brown.
Formerly Joe’s Diner on Eastland Ave.
1402 Ordway Place
Rosepepper present day
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
41
prolific and visionary developer in East Nashville, understood the storm would change the dynamics of the local real estate market and saw a silver lining in a bad situation. “The tornado was ugly but it also created a unique business opportunity,” Egerton says. “Large amounts of property were changing hands quickly. East Nashville already had huge potential, but the tornado sped that up.” Egerton soon set his sights on pairing specific properties with specific businesses to meet what he saw as a growing demand for more upscale retail, drinking and dining services. He says that while his decisions were deliberate, success still required good timing and a bit of luck. The result of Egerton’s efforts in 5 Points: An abandoned TV repair shop became Bongo Java. A 1930s gas station became Margot Cafe. An old clapboard home eventually became The Red Door. A vacant storefront shop became Marché. A ramshackle metal garage became Chop Shop. An old office building became PizzeReal. Simultaneously, or in response to the strengthening market, other investors snapped up property in the area, adding still more optimism, capital and momentum to the process. In the ensuing few years, Rosepepper, The Family Wash, Sasso (now Lipstick lounge) The Turnip Truck, Slow Bar (now 3 Crow), Beyond The Edge, Chapel Bistro (now Eastland Cafe), Batter’d & Fried and Alley Cat (now Drifters) sprung to life. These new neighborhood gathering spots, as well as the wildly popular Tomato Festival founded by Art & Invention owners Meg and Bret MacFadyen, began attracting large numbers of people from across the river, helping to reshape East Nashville’s image as a not-so-scary, hip, artsy, food-anddrink destination. Billy Fields, director of disaster relief after
the tornado, observed that many Nashvillians who came to help with cleanup were amazed at how charming and “normal” the East Side was and not quite as dangerous as once perceived. Ellen Einstein, East Nashville resident since 1993 and co-owner of Sweet 16th Bakery, says, “It brought out the best in us from both sides of the river. Seeing neighbors helping neighbors — block by block — was inspiring. Strangers showing up with chainsaws, trucks, sandwiches … that feeling of support and community is really what kept us here after the storm.” Immediate news coverage of the tornado’s destruction and the months-long news stories of the subsequent cleanup caught the attention of many west-side homebuyers as well. They noted all the beautiful, historic homes with sale prices sometimes half that of similar homes in Sylvan Park, Richland or Cherokee Park. Ernie Chaires, owner of Rosepepper Cantina on Eastland Avenue, says, “The tornado brought new money, new people and the idea of a future.” Chaires should know. He came to East Nashville in 2001 to hunt for a new restaurant location, an idea first suggested to him by — surprise! — March Egerton. Chaires says that when Rosepepper first opened, it quickly became the unofficial meeting place for realtors to meet clients. “Just having this kind of place centrally located between the Lockeland Springs and Inglewood neighborhoods, where people could meet and gather was important”, he says. “It sent a signal that the area actually was a great place to do live and do business.” Margot McCormack, owner of nationally acclaimed Margot Cafe and Marché, agrees. “The tornado was a pivotal event for East Nashville. It brought money and attention to the area that was not here before … . Any time you take an old building and turn it into something special, it’s like breathing life into the neighborhood.”
Financial and market-driven factors aside, the tornado galvanized citywide attention and community action that led to deeper, more organized collaboration between Metro and neighborhood leaders — a crucial ingredient of the overall recovery. Then-mayor Phil Bredesen’s Tornado Recovery Board, the Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team led by architect Hunter Gee, and the formation of Rediscover East! all provided vital mechanisms for assessing community needs and developing long term plans for future growth. Bold and effective community leaders like Carol Norton, Anne Roberts, Bob Borzak, Eileen Beehan, Earl Campbell, Pastor Lannie Lawler, Christine Kreyling, Diane Neighbors, and Carol and Charlie Williams, led many effective campaigns to enforce building codes, beautify streets, improve Eastside schools and help reduce crime, long before the tornado. Hindsight paints the clearest picture of how the 1998 tornado influenced the revival of East Nashville. So many important stories, leaders and anonymous heroes are yet to be known. But we realize the storm’s legacy is not about what it destroyed but what it created: A bustling local economy, more prosperity, more choice and a better quality of life for most. Ultimately, the tornado sparked the creation of new neighborhood organizations, strengthened our sense of community, and finally opened eyes throughout Nashville to the fullest potential of what our city and citizens could be. Dan Heller lives in the Inglewood neighborhood of East Nashville. He is a developer and president and cofounder of Urban Green Lab.
Post-tornado By Terri Dorsey
T
42
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
(R/UDAT). With this team of R/UDAT experts, Nashville gained a privilege seldom available to many disaster sites — the chance to design a better community than the one destroyed. Now, 15 years later, some of their work has materialized in the thriving, energetic and hip hamlet of East Nashville. Their ideas have encouraged more business districts; connected neighborhood groups; strengthened the campaign for better schools; and improved the looks and traffic flow on Shelby Avenue and
March | April 2013
As McCoy explains, “Everything got put on autopilot, which is good. That means the agencies are doing good, MDHA is doing good, the historic commission is doing good, and the monitoring of the design guidelines are being followed.” Some of planning concepts turned into reality. For example, East Side residents no longer need to go across the river for a wide choice of restaurants. Carol Norton, one of the original neighborhood advocates, used to say many years ago, “The homeless have more dining
choices in East Nashville than the residents.” As the chairwoman of the traffic committee, Norton is also happy to lose the problem of the “Shelby 500,” the name she dubbed Shelby Avenue before the four-lane road was slowed with fewer lanes. One of the main ideas the community hoped for is still sitting on a shelf: A civic center, or “The Oval” as it was called, was planned for the area in front of East Library. Some hope this dream will come true, along with a future EastWest transit line.
• Keep corner stores • Improve the looks of the neighborhood “entrances” • Develop financial incentives to attract investors • Create a civic square • Define guidelines for business districts
urban planning helped make east nashville what it is today he summer after the tornado, a team descended upon East Nashville that wasn’t the normal group of clean-up volunteers. They didn’t perform any manual labor; the goal for this team was setting up a game plan for the future look of East Nashville. Some of the nation’s best urban designers, planners, architects and engineers were sent by the American Institute of Architects to offer unique recovery assistance known as the Regional Urban Design Assistance Team
on outside interests. People across the city were concerned about helping East Nashville,” explains Christine Kreyling, an early neighborhood activist. “I felt we could use the tornado for long-term planning rather than just getting blue tarps off the roofs.” Kreyling had been meeting with two other East Side advocates, Steve Neighbors and Ann Roberts, plotting how to unite the scattered blocks of current, smaller neighborhood associations. They never expected a tornado would be the boost to kick-start an East Side movement. “So many people were coming over to help, and we knew we’d get the spotlight. So we wanted to use that,” she says “not just to make short-time fixes but long-term strategy.” The immediate recovery help from other parts of Nashville, and the quick work of neighborhood leaders, led to a Tornado Recovery Board. It coordinated an effective group of Metro officials from every agency, neighborhood residents and business leaders. The Recovery Board didn’t simply pick up the pieces in East Nashville — they wanted a master plan for future improvements. So they sought help from R/UDAT experts. The whole process took several months before a final report was issued. With their outside perspective, these professionals had some interesting observations. They recognized some of the characteristics that made East Nashville seem so home-like, such as walkable neighborhood streets with nearby stores, churches, schools and parks just around the corner. They also said — as noted in the report — that such a community is rare. “Given the strength and quality of these neighborhood characteristics, the area has survived the post-WWII forces that devastated traditional neighborhoods throughout the United States.” The report goes on to say, “It managed an amazing resilience through changes in population, transportation and employment.” Some of the key recommendations in the report included:
Main Street. At least as important has been the long-term follow-up of the East Nashville community. Rediscover East! was organized to continue the work R/UDAT began. These disparate elements came together with focus and purpose … all because of the tornado. It wasn’t just luck that lured the R/UDAT team to come here. Early neighborhood organizers and city leaders worked hard to get their help. “It was no accident, because we had already been organized. So we could capitalize
Protecting the village-like nature of commercial areas while encouraging new stores to open meant setting up guidelines for the design of urban development. Rich McCoy, an architect and East Nashvillian, serves as the chairman of The Urban Design Committee, which was set up 14 years ago within Rediscover East! to implement these guidelines. A number of other committees were also created at the time, however some of them were able to phase out as work launched by the R/UDAT plan was completed. March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
43
prolific and visionary developer in East Nashville, understood the storm would change the dynamics of the local real estate market and saw a silver lining in a bad situation. “The tornado was ugly but it also created a unique business opportunity,” Egerton says. “Large amounts of property were changing hands quickly. East Nashville already had huge potential, but the tornado sped that up.” Egerton soon set his sights on pairing specific properties with specific businesses to meet what he saw as a growing demand for more upscale retail, drinking and dining services. He says that while his decisions were deliberate, success still required good timing and a bit of luck. The result of Egerton’s efforts in 5 Points: An abandoned TV repair shop became Bongo Java. A 1930s gas station became Margot Cafe. An old clapboard home eventually became The Red Door. A vacant storefront shop became Marché. A ramshackle metal garage became Chop Shop. An old office building became PizzeReal. Simultaneously, or in response to the strengthening market, other investors snapped up property in the area, adding still more optimism, capital and momentum to the process. In the ensuing few years, Rosepepper, The Family Wash, Sasso (now Lipstick lounge) The Turnip Truck, Slow Bar (now 3 Crow), Beyond The Edge, Chapel Bistro (now Eastland Cafe), Batter’d & Fried and Alley Cat (now Drifters) sprung to life. These new neighborhood gathering spots, as well as the wildly popular Tomato Festival founded by Art & Invention owners Meg and Bret MacFadyen, began attracting large numbers of people from across the river, helping to reshape East Nashville’s image as a not-so-scary, hip, artsy, food-anddrink destination. Billy Fields, director of disaster relief after
the tornado, observed that many Nashvillians who came to help with cleanup were amazed at how charming and “normal” the East Side was and not quite as dangerous as once perceived. Ellen Einstein, East Nashville resident since 1993 and co-owner of Sweet 16th Bakery, says, “It brought out the best in us from both sides of the river. Seeing neighbors helping neighbors — block by block — was inspiring. Strangers showing up with chainsaws, trucks, sandwiches … that feeling of support and community is really what kept us here after the storm.” Immediate news coverage of the tornado’s destruction and the months-long news stories of the subsequent cleanup caught the attention of many west-side homebuyers as well. They noted all the beautiful, historic homes with sale prices sometimes half that of similar homes in Sylvan Park, Richland or Cherokee Park. Ernie Chaires, owner of Rosepepper Cantina on Eastland Avenue, says, “The tornado brought new money, new people and the idea of a future.” Chaires should know. He came to East Nashville in 2001 to hunt for a new restaurant location, an idea first suggested to him by — surprise! — March Egerton. Chaires says that when Rosepepper first opened, it quickly became the unofficial meeting place for realtors to meet clients. “Just having this kind of place centrally located between the Lockeland Springs and Inglewood neighborhoods, where people could meet and gather was important”, he says. “It sent a signal that the area actually was a great place to do live and do business.” Margot McCormack, owner of nationally acclaimed Margot Cafe and Marché, agrees. “The tornado was a pivotal event for East Nashville. It brought money and attention to the area that was not here before … . Any time you take an old building and turn it into something special, it’s like breathing life into the neighborhood.”
Financial and market-driven factors aside, the tornado galvanized citywide attention and community action that led to deeper, more organized collaboration between Metro and neighborhood leaders — a crucial ingredient of the overall recovery. Then-mayor Phil Bredesen’s Tornado Recovery Board, the Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team led by architect Hunter Gee, and the formation of Rediscover East! all provided vital mechanisms for assessing community needs and developing long term plans for future growth. Bold and effective community leaders like Carol Norton, Anne Roberts, Bob Borzak, Eileen Beehan, Earl Campbell, Pastor Lannie Lawler, Christine Kreyling, Diane Neighbors, and Carol and Charlie Williams, led many effective campaigns to enforce building codes, beautify streets, improve Eastside schools and help reduce crime, long before the tornado. Hindsight paints the clearest picture of how the 1998 tornado influenced the revival of East Nashville. So many important stories, leaders and anonymous heroes are yet to be known. But we realize the storm’s legacy is not about what it destroyed but what it created: A bustling local economy, more prosperity, more choice and a better quality of life for most. Ultimately, the tornado sparked the creation of new neighborhood organizations, strengthened our sense of community, and finally opened eyes throughout Nashville to the fullest potential of what our city and citizens could be. Dan Heller lives in the Inglewood neighborhood of East Nashville. He is a developer and president and cofounder of Urban Green Lab.
Post-tornado By Terri Dorsey
T
42
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
(R/UDAT). With this team of R/UDAT experts, Nashville gained a privilege seldom available to many disaster sites — the chance to design a better community than the one destroyed. Now, 15 years later, some of their work has materialized in the thriving, energetic and hip hamlet of East Nashville. Their ideas have encouraged more business districts; connected neighborhood groups; strengthened the campaign for better schools; and improved the looks and traffic flow on Shelby Avenue and
March | April 2013
As McCoy explains, “Everything got put on autopilot, which is good. That means the agencies are doing good, MDHA is doing good, the historic commission is doing good, and the monitoring of the design guidelines are being followed.” Some of planning concepts turned into reality. For example, East Side residents no longer need to go across the river for a wide choice of restaurants. Carol Norton, one of the original neighborhood advocates, used to say many years ago, “The homeless have more dining
choices in East Nashville than the residents.” As the chairwoman of the traffic committee, Norton is also happy to lose the problem of the “Shelby 500,” the name she dubbed Shelby Avenue before the four-lane road was slowed with fewer lanes. One of the main ideas the community hoped for is still sitting on a shelf: A civic center, or “The Oval” as it was called, was planned for the area in front of East Library. Some hope this dream will come true, along with a future EastWest transit line.
• Keep corner stores • Improve the looks of the neighborhood “entrances” • Develop financial incentives to attract investors • Create a civic square • Define guidelines for business districts
urban planning helped make east nashville what it is today he summer after the tornado, a team descended upon East Nashville that wasn’t the normal group of clean-up volunteers. They didn’t perform any manual labor; the goal for this team was setting up a game plan for the future look of East Nashville. Some of the nation’s best urban designers, planners, architects and engineers were sent by the American Institute of Architects to offer unique recovery assistance known as the Regional Urban Design Assistance Team
on outside interests. People across the city were concerned about helping East Nashville,” explains Christine Kreyling, an early neighborhood activist. “I felt we could use the tornado for long-term planning rather than just getting blue tarps off the roofs.” Kreyling had been meeting with two other East Side advocates, Steve Neighbors and Ann Roberts, plotting how to unite the scattered blocks of current, smaller neighborhood associations. They never expected a tornado would be the boost to kick-start an East Side movement. “So many people were coming over to help, and we knew we’d get the spotlight. So we wanted to use that,” she says “not just to make short-time fixes but long-term strategy.” The immediate recovery help from other parts of Nashville, and the quick work of neighborhood leaders, led to a Tornado Recovery Board. It coordinated an effective group of Metro officials from every agency, neighborhood residents and business leaders. The Recovery Board didn’t simply pick up the pieces in East Nashville — they wanted a master plan for future improvements. So they sought help from R/UDAT experts. The whole process took several months before a final report was issued. With their outside perspective, these professionals had some interesting observations. They recognized some of the characteristics that made East Nashville seem so home-like, such as walkable neighborhood streets with nearby stores, churches, schools and parks just around the corner. They also said — as noted in the report — that such a community is rare. “Given the strength and quality of these neighborhood characteristics, the area has survived the post-WWII forces that devastated traditional neighborhoods throughout the United States.” The report goes on to say, “It managed an amazing resilience through changes in population, transportation and employment.” Some of the key recommendations in the report included:
Main Street. At least as important has been the long-term follow-up of the East Nashville community. Rediscover East! was organized to continue the work R/UDAT began. These disparate elements came together with focus and purpose … all because of the tornado. It wasn’t just luck that lured the R/UDAT team to come here. Early neighborhood organizers and city leaders worked hard to get their help. “It was no accident, because we had already been organized. So we could capitalize
Protecting the village-like nature of commercial areas while encouraging new stores to open meant setting up guidelines for the design of urban development. Rich McCoy, an architect and East Nashvillian, serves as the chairman of The Urban Design Committee, which was set up 14 years ago within Rediscover East! to implement these guidelines. A number of other committees were also created at the time, however some of them were able to phase out as work launched by the R/UDAT plan was completed. March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
43
1998:
not the first By Robbie D. Jones
44
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
tornado gathered intensity as it crossed the Cumberland River above the Woodland Street Bridge and struck East Nashville with a vengeance, lifting near Tulip Grove in Hermitage. Its path was nearly identical to the F3 tornado that struck East Nashville 65 years later. In 1933, there was no weather radar and the Weather Service did not issue tornado warnings. Striking after sunset around 7:30 p.m., the terrifying storm hit when many people were already in bed. The temperature had hit 80 degrees earlier in the day before a fast-moving cold front brought torrential rain,
photo and map courtesy of national weather service
T
he 1998 tornado may have been one of the most destructive to hit East Nashville, but it wasn’t the first. Nor was it the last. According to the National Weather Service, since 1833 about 500 tornadoes have occurred in Middle Tennessee. Between 1993 and 2003 alone, our region experienced 16 tornadoes, leading the Midstate to be dubbed Tennessee’s Tornado Alley. From 1833-2012, Davidson County experienced 37 tornadoes, second only to Rutherford County with 38. And on Jan. 30, 2013, another two tornadoes struck the county, including one in East Nashville. Here is a look at some of the more significant tornadoes to strike East Nashville, based on National Weather Service records and research gathered by Mark A. Rose, a local meteorologist. March 14, 1933 On March 14, 1933, an F3 tornado left a 45-mile-long swath of damage through Davidson, Wilson and Smith Counties, killing 15 and injuring 45 in East Nashville alone. One of the deadliest tornadoes in Tennessee history, this storm’s point of origin was Charlotte Pike and 51st Avenue. As it passed over the State Capitol and Public Square, the
large hail and deadly squall lines. Striking quickly, the tornado left behind a three-mile trail of destruction varying from 400 to 800 yards in width, damaging or destroying some 1,400 homes, 16 churches, 36 stores, five factories, four schools, one library and a lodge hall. The same storm created additional tornadoes in the East Tennessee counties of Campbell, Claiborne, Hancock and Sullivan. In total, this tornado outbreak killed 52, injured 556 and left 552 homeless. In East Nashville, first responders included police officers, the National Guard, legionnaires, Red Cross workers, Boy Scouts and Salvation Army workers. Some worked for 36 hours straight in order to maintain control, restore order and prevent panic. Within two days, streets had been cleared and the city’s relief agencies were providing shelter, food and clothing to the thousands of storm victims. The destruction was so extreme that many people could not find their own homes in order to determine if they still stood or not. Although Riverside Drive was impassable for more than 24 hours due to fallen trees, Robert Lanier kept his grocery store open all night in order to feed storm victims in Inglewood. The Dixie Tabernacle at 210 Woodland Street and churches were used as emergency shelters. April 7, 1972 Nearly 40 years passed before the next major tornado hit East Nashville. On April 7, 1972, an F2 tornado injured 15 people. With its point of origin in Ashland City, this tornado followed a southeasterly track for 18.5 miles through North Nashville before passing through Cleveland Park, Greenwood, Eastwood, Rosebank and Shelby Bottoms. It lifted along Lebanon Pike in Donelson. April 3, 1974 Just two years later, on April 3, 1974, a deadly F2 tornado swept through Nashville, resulting in a dozen injuries and one fatality. Part of the Super Outbreak of 1974 — in which 24 tornadoes touched down in the region, leaving hundreds injured and over two dozen fatalities — this tornado hit the ground in Belle Meade, wreaking havoc as it crossed the Cumberland River just south of the Gateway Bridge into East Nashville. The deadly storm followed a northeasterly 4.7-mile long path through Shelby Hills, Lockeland Springs, Shelby Bottoms and South Inglewood before lifting near McGavock Pike and Two Rivers. March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
45
1998:
not the first By Robbie D. Jones
44
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
tornado gathered intensity as it crossed the Cumberland River above the Woodland Street Bridge and struck East Nashville with a vengeance, lifting near Tulip Grove in Hermitage. Its path was nearly identical to the F3 tornado that struck East Nashville 65 years later. In 1933, there was no weather radar and the Weather Service did not issue tornado warnings. Striking after sunset around 7:30 p.m., the terrifying storm hit when many people were already in bed. The temperature had hit 80 degrees earlier in the day before a fast-moving cold front brought torrential rain,
photo and map courtesy of national weather service
T
he 1998 tornado may have been one of the most destructive to hit East Nashville, but it wasn’t the first. Nor was it the last. According to the National Weather Service, since 1833 about 500 tornadoes have occurred in Middle Tennessee. Between 1993 and 2003 alone, our region experienced 16 tornadoes, leading the Midstate to be dubbed Tennessee’s Tornado Alley. From 1833-2012, Davidson County experienced 37 tornadoes, second only to Rutherford County with 38. And on Jan. 30, 2013, another two tornadoes struck the county, including one in East Nashville. Here is a look at some of the more significant tornadoes to strike East Nashville, based on National Weather Service records and research gathered by Mark A. Rose, a local meteorologist. March 14, 1933 On March 14, 1933, an F3 tornado left a 45-mile-long swath of damage through Davidson, Wilson and Smith Counties, killing 15 and injuring 45 in East Nashville alone. One of the deadliest tornadoes in Tennessee history, this storm’s point of origin was Charlotte Pike and 51st Avenue. As it passed over the State Capitol and Public Square, the
large hail and deadly squall lines. Striking quickly, the tornado left behind a three-mile trail of destruction varying from 400 to 800 yards in width, damaging or destroying some 1,400 homes, 16 churches, 36 stores, five factories, four schools, one library and a lodge hall. The same storm created additional tornadoes in the East Tennessee counties of Campbell, Claiborne, Hancock and Sullivan. In total, this tornado outbreak killed 52, injured 556 and left 552 homeless. In East Nashville, first responders included police officers, the National Guard, legionnaires, Red Cross workers, Boy Scouts and Salvation Army workers. Some worked for 36 hours straight in order to maintain control, restore order and prevent panic. Within two days, streets had been cleared and the city’s relief agencies were providing shelter, food and clothing to the thousands of storm victims. The destruction was so extreme that many people could not find their own homes in order to determine if they still stood or not. Although Riverside Drive was impassable for more than 24 hours due to fallen trees, Robert Lanier kept his grocery store open all night in order to feed storm victims in Inglewood. The Dixie Tabernacle at 210 Woodland Street and churches were used as emergency shelters. April 7, 1972 Nearly 40 years passed before the next major tornado hit East Nashville. On April 7, 1972, an F2 tornado injured 15 people. With its point of origin in Ashland City, this tornado followed a southeasterly track for 18.5 miles through North Nashville before passing through Cleveland Park, Greenwood, Eastwood, Rosebank and Shelby Bottoms. It lifted along Lebanon Pike in Donelson. April 3, 1974 Just two years later, on April 3, 1974, a deadly F2 tornado swept through Nashville, resulting in a dozen injuries and one fatality. Part of the Super Outbreak of 1974 — in which 24 tornadoes touched down in the region, leaving hundreds injured and over two dozen fatalities — this tornado hit the ground in Belle Meade, wreaking havoc as it crossed the Cumberland River just south of the Gateway Bridge into East Nashville. The deadly storm followed a northeasterly 4.7-mile long path through Shelby Hills, Lockeland Springs, Shelby Bottoms and South Inglewood before lifting near McGavock Pike and Two Rivers. March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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Gymboree T-shirts to celebrate turning three: $1.99 each
I got it at Goodwill
Find your store at giveit2goodwill.org
East Nashville author Bente Gallagher juggles three novel series, two noms de plume and entirely too many Twitter feeds. By Liz Jungers Hughes
2/22/13 10:53 AM YOUR FRIENDLY EAST NASHVILLE INSURANCE AGENT
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Jans Eric INSURANCE 615.478.7146
ericjans@ericjans.com www.ericjansinsurance.com health insurance life insurance disability insurance supplemental insurance long-term care health savings account (hsa) 46
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March | April 2013
photo by Stacie Huckeba
P
rolific doesn’t begin to describe local mystery/romance/sci-fi author Bente Gallagher, who is concurrently writing three series of novels. Also known by her pen names Jennie Bentley and Jenna Bennett, Gallagher writes a new book every two or three months, completing four full-length works and a novella last year alone. With a shrug and the lilt of her unshakable Norwegian accent she says, “I have lots of time to make up for, I guess.” She finished her first manuscript in 2006, following the births of her two boys — now ages 9 and 13 — and a long string of jobs. Having gotten her realtor’s license the year before, Gallagher’s imagination ran away with her in real-estate classes and right onto the pages of A Cutthroat Business. While looking at a foreclosure in Cleveland Park in 2005, she found a butcher knife laying on the kitchen floor and a plot formed. Following the old adage, “write what you know,” Gallagher set her first book here in Nashville, against the backdrop of the property game. “You hear a lot about safety, because a lot of
women are in real estate, and there are a lot of empty houses. You advertise your face and your name everywhere and strangers call you. Most of the time it works out just fine … but what if ? What if it’s an axe murderer, what if it’s a rapist, or what if there’s a dead body?” A dead body is exactly what Bente’s heroine, novice realtor Savannah Martin, discovers at her first-ever home showing at 101 Potsdam St., a dilapidated Italianate Victorian in a rough neighborhood that could be East Nashville. With a $500,000 price tag, “The commission would pay my rent and keep me in gasoline and Ramen noodles for the rest of the year, at least,” Savannah figures, hoping to avoid having to fall back on her gig selling makeup at Dillard’s. Her client is “quintessential small-town bad boy” Rafe Collier: “Six feet, three inches of testosterone and trouble; tall, dark and dangerous, with a murky past and no future — not the kind of guy a perfect Southern Belle should want to tangle with.” Savannah’s considerable charm and resourcefulness help her uncover the mystery behind the dead body — which happens to
belong to her colleague Brenda Puckett, one of Nashville’s most ruthless realtors — all while recovering from her failed starter marriage, navigating her conservative Southern family, and trying to resist Rafe’s unsuitable sex appeal. Gallagher’s fast-paced suspense will appeal to fans of Janet Evanovich, and her creative blending of real and fictional Nashville is especially fun for local readers. Gallagher has lived in Nashville since 1992, nearly all of that time in East Nashville. “That first year, we had four murders within one block of us, in each direction,” she recalls, remarking how dramatically the neighborhood has changed in 20 years. Originally from Norway, Bente’s dream of becoming an actress brought her to New York City after high school. Once there, she found out she really didn’t like one major part of the job: auditioning. “It’s hard putting yourself out there for judgment every day. You do that with books too, but it’s at one removed, and they’re not judging you in the same way. At least you hope not.” Gallagher’s books have been judged favorably
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
47
Gymboree T-shirts to celebrate turning three: $1.99 each
I got it at Goodwill
Find your store at giveit2goodwill.org
East Nashville author Bente Gallagher juggles three novel series, two noms de plume and entirely too many Twitter feeds. By Liz Jungers Hughes
2/22/13 10:53 AM YOUR FRIENDLY EAST NASHVILLE INSURANCE AGENT
GW_Retail_EastNashvillian.indd 1
Jans Eric INSURANCE 615.478.7146
ericjans@ericjans.com www.ericjansinsurance.com health insurance life insurance disability insurance supplemental insurance long-term care health savings account (hsa) 46
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
photo by Stacie Huckeba
P
rolific doesn’t begin to describe local mystery/romance/sci-fi author Bente Gallagher, who is concurrently writing three series of novels. Also known by her pen names Jennie Bentley and Jenna Bennett, Gallagher writes a new book every two or three months, completing four full-length works and a novella last year alone. With a shrug and the lilt of her unshakable Norwegian accent she says, “I have lots of time to make up for, I guess.” She finished her first manuscript in 2006, following the births of her two boys — now ages 9 and 13 — and a long string of jobs. Having gotten her realtor’s license the year before, Gallagher’s imagination ran away with her in real-estate classes and right onto the pages of A Cutthroat Business. While looking at a foreclosure in Cleveland Park in 2005, she found a butcher knife laying on the kitchen floor and a plot formed. Following the old adage, “write what you know,” Gallagher set her first book here in Nashville, against the backdrop of the property game. “You hear a lot about safety, because a lot of
women are in real estate, and there are a lot of empty houses. You advertise your face and your name everywhere and strangers call you. Most of the time it works out just fine … but what if ? What if it’s an axe murderer, what if it’s a rapist, or what if there’s a dead body?” A dead body is exactly what Bente’s heroine, novice realtor Savannah Martin, discovers at her first-ever home showing at 101 Potsdam St., a dilapidated Italianate Victorian in a rough neighborhood that could be East Nashville. With a $500,000 price tag, “The commission would pay my rent and keep me in gasoline and Ramen noodles for the rest of the year, at least,” Savannah figures, hoping to avoid having to fall back on her gig selling makeup at Dillard’s. Her client is “quintessential small-town bad boy” Rafe Collier: “Six feet, three inches of testosterone and trouble; tall, dark and dangerous, with a murky past and no future — not the kind of guy a perfect Southern Belle should want to tangle with.” Savannah’s considerable charm and resourcefulness help her uncover the mystery behind the dead body — which happens to
belong to her colleague Brenda Puckett, one of Nashville’s most ruthless realtors — all while recovering from her failed starter marriage, navigating her conservative Southern family, and trying to resist Rafe’s unsuitable sex appeal. Gallagher’s fast-paced suspense will appeal to fans of Janet Evanovich, and her creative blending of real and fictional Nashville is especially fun for local readers. Gallagher has lived in Nashville since 1992, nearly all of that time in East Nashville. “That first year, we had four murders within one block of us, in each direction,” she recalls, remarking how dramatically the neighborhood has changed in 20 years. Originally from Norway, Bente’s dream of becoming an actress brought her to New York City after high school. Once there, she found out she really didn’t like one major part of the job: auditioning. “It’s hard putting yourself out there for judgment every day. You do that with books too, but it’s at one removed, and they’re not judging you in the same way. At least you hope not.” Gallagher’s books have been judged favorably
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
47
by her many fans. While she’s begun to amass a following for her sci-fi/romance Soldiers of Fortune series, which debuted last year with Fortune’s Hero, Gallagher is best known for her New York Times best-selling series, the Do-It-Yourself Home Renovation mysteries. Beginning with 2008’s Fatal Fixer-Upper, the series centers on Avery Baker, a New York City designer who decamps to Maine after she inherits her aunt’s crumbling Victorian manse. In the process of renovating the home, she uncovers clues regarding a professor’s disappearance, landing in the middle of a small-town mystery while learning the ropes of home flipping from the sexy local handyman. The concept of a house-flipping mystery series actually came from the publisher, who hoped to cash in on the mid-2000s craze. While pitching A Cutthroat Business, Gallagher’s agent sent the manuscript to a slew of uninterested publishers including Penguin/ Berkley Prime Crime. “They didn’t want it either,” Gallagher says, “but they wanted me.” She was hired to write the Do-It-Yourself series under the pen name Jennie Bentley, now with six installments and a seventh due out this Christmas. A Cutthroat Business eventually found a home with PublishingWorks Inc., a regional publisher based in Exeter, N.H. They released the first book in the series in 2010 under the author’s actual name. While they opted not to publish the rest of the series, Gallagher has carried on Savannah Martin’s adventures in real estate, self-publishing four more installments to date and currently working on the sixth book, which she hopes to release in mid-2013. The Cutthroat series is available in e-book form at iTunes, Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and can be found under her second pen name, Jenna Bennett. “Jennie Bentley” is under exclusive contract to Penguin/Berkley. “Jenna Bennett” authors the Cutthroat Business and Soldiers of Fortune books. (Don’t worry, Bente can’t keep
Scene of the crime: Bente Gallagher poses in front of the East Nashville home that inspired one of her novels.
track either. It’s not uncommon for Jenna to accidentally post to Jennie’s Twitter feed.) As for many mid-list authors, the e-reader boom has proven a boon to Gallagher, who enjoys the freedom to continue the Cutthroat Business series even without a traditional print publisher. When it comes to getting published the old-fashioned way, “You have to have the right book at the right time,” she says, “but there are a lot of people who don’t have the right book at the right time. They can be very good books, it’s just that nobody feels like taking a chance on it at that time. If it were five years before or five years later, that might have made a difference. But it’s not, it’s now, and you can’t sell your book.” Gallagher started to think seriously about writing fiction in the late 1990s, when someone told her it was easy to get published in
romance. She joined the local chapter of Romance Writers of America and began honing her craft, but discovered the advice wasn’t very helpful. “That’s a lie. It’s not easy to get published in anything,” she says. It was a few years later that she turned her attention to mystery, finding a natural ability to create suspenseful scenarios and fishy characters. “It’s osmosis, I think. I’ve never studied writing, I just read a lot, and started reading early,” Gallagher says. “I never learned how to do it, never sat down and figured out the steps. I don’t have a formula.” In fact, when writing A Cutthroat Business, she didn’t decide who the killer was until most of the way through the book, reasoning that if she herself didn’t know, then her readers wouldn’t either — and indeed, she keeps you guessing until the end.
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Amy T. Cole FNP-C, CNM
615.732.1030
1406 B McGavock Pike, Nashville, TN 37216
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Mindy Weaver FNP-C
MON-THUR: 9-7 | FRIDAY: 9-6 | SAT: 9-5 | SUN: AVAILABLE FOR EMERGENCIES
48
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March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
49
by her many fans. While she’s begun to amass a following for her sci-fi/romance Soldiers of Fortune series, which debuted last year with Fortune’s Hero, Gallagher is best known for her New York Times best-selling series, the Do-It-Yourself Home Renovation mysteries. Beginning with 2008’s Fatal Fixer-Upper, the series centers on Avery Baker, a New York City designer who decamps to Maine after she inherits her aunt’s crumbling Victorian manse. In the process of renovating the home, she uncovers clues regarding a professor’s disappearance, landing in the middle of a small-town mystery while learning the ropes of home flipping from the sexy local handyman. The concept of a house-flipping mystery series actually came from the publisher, who hoped to cash in on the mid-2000s craze. While pitching A Cutthroat Business, Gallagher’s agent sent the manuscript to a slew of uninterested publishers including Penguin/ Berkley Prime Crime. “They didn’t want it either,” Gallagher says, “but they wanted me.” She was hired to write the Do-It-Yourself series under the pen name Jennie Bentley, now with six installments and a seventh due out this Christmas. A Cutthroat Business eventually found a home with PublishingWorks Inc., a regional publisher based in Exeter, N.H. They released the first book in the series in 2010 under the author’s actual name. While they opted not to publish the rest of the series, Gallagher has carried on Savannah Martin’s adventures in real estate, self-publishing four more installments to date and currently working on the sixth book, which she hopes to release in mid-2013. The Cutthroat series is available in e-book form at iTunes, Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and can be found under her second pen name, Jenna Bennett. “Jennie Bentley” is under exclusive contract to Penguin/Berkley. “Jenna Bennett” authors the Cutthroat Business and Soldiers of Fortune books. (Don’t worry, Bente can’t keep
Scene of the crime: Bente Gallagher poses in front of the East Nashville home that inspired one of her novels.
track either. It’s not uncommon for Jenna to accidentally post to Jennie’s Twitter feed.) As for many mid-list authors, the e-reader boom has proven a boon to Gallagher, who enjoys the freedom to continue the Cutthroat Business series even without a traditional print publisher. When it comes to getting published the old-fashioned way, “You have to have the right book at the right time,” she says, “but there are a lot of people who don’t have the right book at the right time. They can be very good books, it’s just that nobody feels like taking a chance on it at that time. If it were five years before or five years later, that might have made a difference. But it’s not, it’s now, and you can’t sell your book.” Gallagher started to think seriously about writing fiction in the late 1990s, when someone told her it was easy to get published in
romance. She joined the local chapter of Romance Writers of America and began honing her craft, but discovered the advice wasn’t very helpful. “That’s a lie. It’s not easy to get published in anything,” she says. It was a few years later that she turned her attention to mystery, finding a natural ability to create suspenseful scenarios and fishy characters. “It’s osmosis, I think. I’ve never studied writing, I just read a lot, and started reading early,” Gallagher says. “I never learned how to do it, never sat down and figured out the steps. I don’t have a formula.” In fact, when writing A Cutthroat Business, she didn’t decide who the killer was until most of the way through the book, reasoning that if she herself didn’t know, then her readers wouldn’t either — and indeed, she keeps you guessing until the end.
FREE IES DELIVER
actice... r P y l i m Cole Fa h t i w y l e clos door! t x e Working n t h 're rig and they operated d n a d e ns own ance pla r -Locally u s n i l l ept a -We acc
EE D I S R E IV LAG
R
VIL
ACY PHARM rhood Drug Store o r Neighb
You
615.650.4444
Gary Williams, D.Ph. Owner / Pharmacist
1406-A McGavock Pike Nashville, TN 37216
Accepting New Patients & Most Insurance
Traditional Health Care with a Holistic Approach
WELLNESS CARE
Physical Exams for Men, Women & Pediatrics • Sports Physicals • DOT Physicals Nutrient Testing • Hormone Testing (Men & Women) • Vitamins & Supplements B12 Injections • Weight Loss Program • LipoB Injections • EKG & Stress Test Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy • Natural Hormone Pellets • In-House Labs
WE TREAT THE FOLLOWING
Chronic Illnesses: Diabetes • High Cholesterol Hypertension • Hypothyroid • Asthma & more Skin: Laceration Repair • Acne Care Ingrown Toenail • Mole & Skin Tag Removal
WOMEN’S HEALTH
Paps • Colposcopy for Abnormal Paps Mirena® • Nexplanon® • Birth Control PMS & Menopause Care • STD Testing
AESTHETICS
Botox • Juvederm • Chemical Peels • Latisse Organic Skin Care Line • Spider Vein Treatment
Mention this ad to receive 25% off ANY AESTHETIC Service or Product!
Amy T. Cole FNP-C, CNM
615.732.1030
1406 B McGavock Pike, Nashville, TN 37216
colefamilypractice.org call today for an appointment
Mindy Weaver FNP-C
MON-THUR: 9-7 | FRIDAY: 9-6 | SAT: 9-5 | SUN: AVAILABLE FOR EMERGENCIES
48
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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photo courtesy of debie cox
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March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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photo courtesy of debie cox
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March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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I
n March 2010, East Nashville was abuzz with the announcement of plans that the historic Roxy Theater would undergo an $800,000 renovation. The boarded-up eyesore would be converted into a community theater for live music and art performances as well as independent films. The 75-year-old Roxy was to become East Nashville’s Belcourt. The long-vacant landmark would serve as the nucleus for rebirth in the downtrodden McFerrin Park neighborhood, which has yet to experience redevelopment on the same scale as other East Nashville neighborhoods. Several media outlets reported the renovated Roxy would be open by the fall of 2011. Three years later, however, the building still stands vacant and boarded up. What happened? First of all, financing the renovation project never got off the ground due to legal disputes between new owner Robert Solomon of Old Hickory and former owner King Records, who filed a lien against the property. As
52
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lawsuits meandered their way through the legal system, Solomon failed to pay property taxes. According to public records, Solomon owes nearly $3,900 in delinquent taxes from 2010 alone. The unpaid taxes resulted in the city auctioning the Roxy Theater on the County Courthouse steps on Jan. 23. That day, real estate developers Oak Tree Partners LLC of Gallatin purchased the property for $35,000. Founded in 2011, Oak Tree Partners recently purchased a historic property in the Salemtown neighborhood, which is rumored to be the possible location of a second Pharmacy burger joint and beer garden. According to Metro officials, the auction sale included a one-year right of redemption period, which gives Solomon a year to reclaim the Roxy if he settles up on delinquent taxes and have ownership transferred back to his name. Perhaps the primary reason so many people
March | April 2013
were excited about a renovated Roxy is because there are so few historic neighborhood movie theater buildings left in Nashville. In fact, their numbers can be counted on one hand. In the mid-20th century, Nashville was chock-full of neighborhood movie theaters. Most featured one, maybe two screens and seating for a few hundred patrons. Today, only one still operates: the Belcourt in Hillsboro Village. The mid-century Belle Meade, Donelson, Madison and Melrose theater buildings still stand, but have been gutted and renovated for retail use. The 1920s Elite Theater near Germantown stands vacant in a boarded up, two-story commercial building. Practically all others have been demolished, including the Ace, Alhambra, Belmont, Bijou, Colonial, Crescent, Crystal, Dixie, Éclair, Inglewood, Knickerbocker, Liberty, Lincoln, Loew’s, Orpheum, Paramount, Rainbow, Rex, Rialto, Ritz, Star, State, Strand, Tennessee and the Vendome.
complex also featured a barbershop and fiveand-dime variety store. The original 1930s Roxy Theater neon marquee sign was located above the Wilburn Street lobby entrance. In the early 1950s a new corner lobby entrance was constructed at Meridian and Wilburn and a new neon marquee sign was put up above the corner entrance. The new lobby featured a terrazzo floor and central refreshment stand. The vertical Roxy neon sign disappeared, but in 1989, the horizontal neon Roxy sign was purchased by the Tennessee State Museum and is in storage for future exhibition. Segregated for whites only, the Roxy closed in 1959 before Nashville’s theaters were integrated. Two years later, the Nashville Revival Center purchased the building and reused it for church services and a self-service laundromat called the Roxy Speedwash. By the 1970s, church services had ceased and the theater was used for storage. In 1979, local music producer Aubrey Mayhew purchased the theater and in the mid-1980s converted it into a short-lived music studio called the Roxy Production Center with a smaller 240-seat performance theater. After the music studio ceased operation in 1989, a permit was filed for converting the Roxy into a daycare center for 50 children. That project, however, was never completed. The Roxy then stood vacant for some 20 years
until November 2009, when the 8,400-square foot building was sold to Robert Solomon for $39,000. Solomon had owned the former Woodland Sound Studios at 5 Points, housed in a historic theater that was damaged in the 1998 tornado, and intended to renovate the Roxy into a community theater for live music and art performances as well as independent films. The tornado-damaged Woodland was also mired in legal disputes, but eventually found new life in the hands of current owners and Americana superstars Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings. For now, it appears the former Roxy Theater remains in limbo, much to the chagrin of neighborhood advocates who were so eager to see the historic landmark become the nucleus of commercial rebirth in a neighborhood that has suffered through recent property condemnations and arson fires. Visions of theatergoers milling about beneath the glare of neon lights with the smell of popcorn wafting through McFerrin Park are still on hold, at least for a while longer. The author gratefully acknowledges research used in this article completed by local historians John Coursey, George Zepp and Debie Cox, as well as Nancy DeVille, a local reporter for The Tennessean.
photo courtesy of debie cox
Here in East Nashville, two historic movie theaters are still standing. The Roxy, which operated from 1937-1959, is located at the corner of Meridian and Wilburn in the once-thriving McFerrin Park neighborhood. According to local historian Debie Cox, the Roxy Theater opened in late 1937 in a former drugstore facing Wilburn Street. Located on a streetcar route that ran down Meridian, the drugstore building dated from 1914. The other now houses that hard-to-miss East Nashville icon Woodland Studios on Woodland Street in 5 Points. In 1936, Nashville businessman Tony Sudekum (1880-1946) purchased the drugstore and renovated it for use as a 500-seat, single-screen theater. Sudekum owned the Crescent chain of movie theaters, which included 130 theaters in three states. Here in Nashville, Sudekum operated several iconic movie houses, including the Belmont, Belle Meade, Melrose and Inglewood. He also owned the Hippodrome Skating Rink on West End Avenue. Sudekum was a popular community leader and philanthropist; the Sudekum Planetarium at the Adventure Science Center is named in his honor. Sudekum expanded the former drugstore to the north so that it faced both Wilburn and Meridian. Although the original lobby faced Wilburn, the Roxy was given the address of 827 Meridian St. The small commercial
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
53
I
n March 2010, East Nashville was abuzz with the announcement of plans that the historic Roxy Theater would undergo an $800,000 renovation. The boarded-up eyesore would be converted into a community theater for live music and art performances as well as independent films. The 75-year-old Roxy was to become East Nashville’s Belcourt. The long-vacant landmark would serve as the nucleus for rebirth in the downtrodden McFerrin Park neighborhood, which has yet to experience redevelopment on the same scale as other East Nashville neighborhoods. Several media outlets reported the renovated Roxy would be open by the fall of 2011. Three years later, however, the building still stands vacant and boarded up. What happened? First of all, financing the renovation project never got off the ground due to legal disputes between new owner Robert Solomon of Old Hickory and former owner King Records, who filed a lien against the property. As
52
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
lawsuits meandered their way through the legal system, Solomon failed to pay property taxes. According to public records, Solomon owes nearly $3,900 in delinquent taxes from 2010 alone. The unpaid taxes resulted in the city auctioning the Roxy Theater on the County Courthouse steps on Jan. 23. That day, real estate developers Oak Tree Partners LLC of Gallatin purchased the property for $35,000. Founded in 2011, Oak Tree Partners recently purchased a historic property in the Salemtown neighborhood, which is rumored to be the possible location of a second Pharmacy burger joint and beer garden. According to Metro officials, the auction sale included a one-year right of redemption period, which gives Solomon a year to reclaim the Roxy if he settles up on delinquent taxes and have ownership transferred back to his name. Perhaps the primary reason so many people
March | April 2013
were excited about a renovated Roxy is because there are so few historic neighborhood movie theater buildings left in Nashville. In fact, their numbers can be counted on one hand. In the mid-20th century, Nashville was chock-full of neighborhood movie theaters. Most featured one, maybe two screens and seating for a few hundred patrons. Today, only one still operates: the Belcourt in Hillsboro Village. The mid-century Belle Meade, Donelson, Madison and Melrose theater buildings still stand, but have been gutted and renovated for retail use. The 1920s Elite Theater near Germantown stands vacant in a boarded up, two-story commercial building. Practically all others have been demolished, including the Ace, Alhambra, Belmont, Bijou, Colonial, Crescent, Crystal, Dixie, Éclair, Inglewood, Knickerbocker, Liberty, Lincoln, Loew’s, Orpheum, Paramount, Rainbow, Rex, Rialto, Ritz, Star, State, Strand, Tennessee and the Vendome.
complex also featured a barbershop and fiveand-dime variety store. The original 1930s Roxy Theater neon marquee sign was located above the Wilburn Street lobby entrance. In the early 1950s a new corner lobby entrance was constructed at Meridian and Wilburn and a new neon marquee sign was put up above the corner entrance. The new lobby featured a terrazzo floor and central refreshment stand. The vertical Roxy neon sign disappeared, but in 1989, the horizontal neon Roxy sign was purchased by the Tennessee State Museum and is in storage for future exhibition. Segregated for whites only, the Roxy closed in 1959 before Nashville’s theaters were integrated. Two years later, the Nashville Revival Center purchased the building and reused it for church services and a self-service laundromat called the Roxy Speedwash. By the 1970s, church services had ceased and the theater was used for storage. In 1979, local music producer Aubrey Mayhew purchased the theater and in the mid-1980s converted it into a short-lived music studio called the Roxy Production Center with a smaller 240-seat performance theater. After the music studio ceased operation in 1989, a permit was filed for converting the Roxy into a daycare center for 50 children. That project, however, was never completed. The Roxy then stood vacant for some 20 years
until November 2009, when the 8,400-square foot building was sold to Robert Solomon for $39,000. Solomon had owned the former Woodland Sound Studios at 5 Points, housed in a historic theater that was damaged in the 1998 tornado, and intended to renovate the Roxy into a community theater for live music and art performances as well as independent films. The tornado-damaged Woodland was also mired in legal disputes, but eventually found new life in the hands of current owners and Americana superstars Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings. For now, it appears the former Roxy Theater remains in limbo, much to the chagrin of neighborhood advocates who were so eager to see the historic landmark become the nucleus of commercial rebirth in a neighborhood that has suffered through recent property condemnations and arson fires. Visions of theatergoers milling about beneath the glare of neon lights with the smell of popcorn wafting through McFerrin Park are still on hold, at least for a while longer. The author gratefully acknowledges research used in this article completed by local historians John Coursey, George Zepp and Debie Cox, as well as Nancy DeVille, a local reporter for The Tennessean.
photo courtesy of debie cox
Here in East Nashville, two historic movie theaters are still standing. The Roxy, which operated from 1937-1959, is located at the corner of Meridian and Wilburn in the once-thriving McFerrin Park neighborhood. According to local historian Debie Cox, the Roxy Theater opened in late 1937 in a former drugstore facing Wilburn Street. Located on a streetcar route that ran down Meridian, the drugstore building dated from 1914. The other now houses that hard-to-miss East Nashville icon Woodland Studios on Woodland Street in 5 Points. In 1936, Nashville businessman Tony Sudekum (1880-1946) purchased the drugstore and renovated it for use as a 500-seat, single-screen theater. Sudekum owned the Crescent chain of movie theaters, which included 130 theaters in three states. Here in Nashville, Sudekum operated several iconic movie houses, including the Belmont, Belle Meade, Melrose and Inglewood. He also owned the Hippodrome Skating Rink on West End Avenue. Sudekum was a popular community leader and philanthropist; the Sudekum Planetarium at the Adventure Science Center is named in his honor. Sudekum expanded the former drugstore to the north so that it faced both Wilburn and Meridian. Although the original lobby faced Wilburn, the Roxy was given the address of 827 Meridian St. The small commercial
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W
hen Randi Michaels Block moved to Nashville in 1992, she was following the dream of thousands who have packed up everything and made the hopeful journey to Music City — the dream of becoming an award-winning … playwright? No, wait, that’s a different dream. Make that a hit songwriter. Or is it both? With the upcoming staging of Block’s Guess Who’s Coming To Seder? A Delicious New Musical at the Gordon Jewish Community Center in late March, she confirms her command of both art forms and delivers a play that 54
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will touch audiences on the most fundamental levels — comedy and religion. The story centers around Sarah Friedman, who decides to hold her first Passover Seder dinner for eight of her friends, none of whom are Jewish. As the night progresses and the wine flows, the guests begin to reveal unexpected confessions about themselves, and of their own struggles to find truth, love and freedom. The performance is being produced by Guess What’s Coming Productions LLC, and sponsored by the Gordon Jewish Community Center.
“It is a comedy,” Block says. The East Nashville resident is anticipating the three shows here, and contemplating her own amazing ride to this point. “There are moments of drama, and it’s politically incorrect at times, but extremely universal. There’s nine people and seven different religions. “It’s what I call my autobiographical fiction.” Seder has already generated legitimate buzz: Block was a finalist in 2010 for the prestigious Fred Ebb Award, given each year for excellence in musical theatre songwriting by the Fred Ebb Foundation in association with New York
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W
hen Randi Michaels Block moved to Nashville in 1992, she was following the dream of thousands who have packed up everything and made the hopeful journey to Music City — the dream of becoming an award-winning … playwright? No, wait, that’s a different dream. Make that a hit songwriter. Or is it both? With the upcoming staging of Block’s Guess Who’s Coming To Seder? A Delicious New Musical at the Gordon Jewish Community Center in late March, she confirms her command of both art forms and delivers a play that 54
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will touch audiences on the most fundamental levels — comedy and religion. The story centers around Sarah Friedman, who decides to hold her first Passover Seder dinner for eight of her friends, none of whom are Jewish. As the night progresses and the wine flows, the guests begin to reveal unexpected confessions about themselves, and of their own struggles to find truth, love and freedom. The performance is being produced by Guess What’s Coming Productions LLC, and sponsored by the Gordon Jewish Community Center.
“It is a comedy,” Block says. The East Nashville resident is anticipating the three shows here, and contemplating her own amazing ride to this point. “There are moments of drama, and it’s politically incorrect at times, but extremely universal. There’s nine people and seven different religions. “It’s what I call my autobiographical fiction.” Seder has already generated legitimate buzz: Block was a finalist in 2010 for the prestigious Fred Ebb Award, given each year for excellence in musical theatre songwriting by the Fred Ebb Foundation in association with New York
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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photos Courtesy of guess who’s coming to seder
City’s Roundabout Theatre Company. Also, the play has been tremendously received at stage readings at the York Theatre in New York, and the Darkhorse Theater in Nashville, and in full production at the Tulsa Project Theater in Oklahoma in the spring of 2012. “The Fred Ebb recognition was a big green light,” Block says. “Something like that lets you know you’re doing the right thing.” Block’s evolving course for becoming a successful playwright has not been a typical one, unless you consider a young woman moving from Manhattan to Nashville with her cat and guitar to become a country songwriter as part of the plan. Against the odds, she signed a publishing deal with Bug Music in 1993, and began living the Music Row life. As a performer, she recorded or toured with Gloria Estefan, The Mavericks, Buster Poindexter, Engelbert Humperdinck and Roger Daltrey, among others. She bought a house near Shelby Park in 1996, and lived there until her life changed trajectory. Within a span of 18 months, she suffered the loss of her grandmother and her mother, and was married and divorced. She sold her house and moved to Boulder, Colo., where she opened an art center, The Center for Creative Expression. “I had to get out,” she says. “I opened the art center in Boulder — there’s a lot of art in my family. My mother was a painter and sculptor. There were some good moments there, but 9/11 happened, and after two years with the art center, I decided to close with the economy and everything. “I love it here, and decided to come back. And I didn’t want to live anywhere else but East Nashville. So I came back in 2003 and bought another house here. And I was floored at how much it had changed in those three years! I always tell my friends in New York that it’s like the West Village of Nashville. Sort of cool and convenient, you can walk to things — be a part of the neighborhood.” Block got a job booking and producing NSAI’s Tin Pan South, which she did for three years. In 2006, she was at a party and was introduced to a visiting playwright from New York, and the chance meeting charted the course she has been on ever since. The two worked long-distance on what would become her first show, Secrets of Songwriting, which enjoyed workshops at The Eugene O’Neill Theatre Festival in 2008 and 2009, and three off-Broadway staged readings at Ripley Grier Studios in New York City in 2009. “He and I parted ways over creative differences,” Block says. “Those four years were like a masters’ class in playwriting. It was totally hard, but totally cool. So when we parted, I thought ‘Well, fine I’ll write my own darn show!’ And, just prior to this, my boyfriend, who is Catholic, and I had a Seder, a Passover dinner in our little house, and 11 people came who
were all songwriters and nobody was Jewish. “After, literally, 20 bottles of wine, it turned into this hilarious and crazy discussion about Jesus, Moses, Buddha, God and everybody else. Everyone thought this should be a musical — and I just thought my ancestors would kill me!” The guests were right. Block decided to submit an outline of the play and songs to the Fred Ebb Foundation two months later. “I thought, ‘I can do this!’” she says now, incredulously. “I had four weeks to submit for the Fred Ebb award. I didn’t leave the house. I wrote four songs, an outline and the nine characters, and I submitted it — thinking this is crazy. Then I just kind of went about my business, and in October 2010, I get a phone call from one of the trustees saying that I’m one of the eight finalists in the world! “It is a big deal! I almost dropped the phone. Here’s this girl in Nashville up for the award — I didn’t win, but I felt like I won by being a finalist.” Block soon met Ted Swindley, creator and director of the hit Always … Patsy Cline, in Nashville and, to her delight, he became the short-lived director of Seder. “With Ted’s help, and the amazing help of [ASCAP’s] Michael Kerker, who took me under his wing five years ago, we got it into the York Theatre — very hard. Then we got it into Darkhorse, and Ted got it to Tulsa for the two-week fully produced run. We have gotten great receptions everywhere. Then the Gordon Jewish Community Center gave us this opportunity — but Ted is taking Always … Patsy Cline to Broadway, so I’m directing Seder. It’s my directorial debut.” A stellar cast features Tatum Harvey as
Sarah, Michael Visconti as boyfriend John Paul O’Connell, the inimitable Lari White as repressed housewife Susan Trudell, David Williams as Todd Trudell, Francine Berk as Todd’s mother, Charlynn Carter and Joshua Payne as rockers Kelly and Ricky Rock, Jonathan Scott Roth as Darrell Growpus, and Sandy Flavin as the born-again Kitty Carson. Shelley Theriault co-produces Seder, and the rest of the team includes music director Dan Serafini, stage manager Alexis Llherisson, and production manager Kate Poole. “The band is all session players — great Nashville players,” Block says. “The team is great, the whole crew.
“Seder is universal. It touches on all things — following your heart, finding out what’s important to you, and who you really are. It’s about freedom — free yourself to follow your heart and your dreams.” Guess Who’s Coming To Seder? A Delicious New Musical plays March 28, March 30, and March 31 at the Gordon Jewish Community Center, 801 Percy Warner Blvd. Tickets are available now at ticketsnashville.com
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photos Courtesy of guess who’s coming to seder
City’s Roundabout Theatre Company. Also, the play has been tremendously received at stage readings at the York Theatre in New York, and the Darkhorse Theater in Nashville, and in full production at the Tulsa Project Theater in Oklahoma in the spring of 2012. “The Fred Ebb recognition was a big green light,” Block says. “Something like that lets you know you’re doing the right thing.” Block’s evolving course for becoming a successful playwright has not been a typical one, unless you consider a young woman moving from Manhattan to Nashville with her cat and guitar to become a country songwriter as part of the plan. Against the odds, she signed a publishing deal with Bug Music in 1993, and began living the Music Row life. As a performer, she recorded or toured with Gloria Estefan, The Mavericks, Buster Poindexter, Engelbert Humperdinck and Roger Daltrey, among others. She bought a house near Shelby Park in 1996, and lived there until her life changed trajectory. Within a span of 18 months, she suffered the loss of her grandmother and her mother, and was married and divorced. She sold her house and moved to Boulder, Colo., where she opened an art center, The Center for Creative Expression. “I had to get out,” she says. “I opened the art center in Boulder — there’s a lot of art in my family. My mother was a painter and sculptor. There were some good moments there, but 9/11 happened, and after two years with the art center, I decided to close with the economy and everything. “I love it here, and decided to come back. And I didn’t want to live anywhere else but East Nashville. So I came back in 2003 and bought another house here. And I was floored at how much it had changed in those three years! I always tell my friends in New York that it’s like the West Village of Nashville. Sort of cool and convenient, you can walk to things — be a part of the neighborhood.” Block got a job booking and producing NSAI’s Tin Pan South, which she did for three years. In 2006, she was at a party and was introduced to a visiting playwright from New York, and the chance meeting charted the course she has been on ever since. The two worked long-distance on what would become her first show, Secrets of Songwriting, which enjoyed workshops at The Eugene O’Neill Theatre Festival in 2008 and 2009, and three off-Broadway staged readings at Ripley Grier Studios in New York City in 2009. “He and I parted ways over creative differences,” Block says. “Those four years were like a masters’ class in playwriting. It was totally hard, but totally cool. So when we parted, I thought ‘Well, fine I’ll write my own darn show!’ And, just prior to this, my boyfriend, who is Catholic, and I had a Seder, a Passover dinner in our little house, and 11 people came who
were all songwriters and nobody was Jewish. “After, literally, 20 bottles of wine, it turned into this hilarious and crazy discussion about Jesus, Moses, Buddha, God and everybody else. Everyone thought this should be a musical — and I just thought my ancestors would kill me!” The guests were right. Block decided to submit an outline of the play and songs to the Fred Ebb Foundation two months later. “I thought, ‘I can do this!’” she says now, incredulously. “I had four weeks to submit for the Fred Ebb award. I didn’t leave the house. I wrote four songs, an outline and the nine characters, and I submitted it — thinking this is crazy. Then I just kind of went about my business, and in October 2010, I get a phone call from one of the trustees saying that I’m one of the eight finalists in the world! “It is a big deal! I almost dropped the phone. Here’s this girl in Nashville up for the award — I didn’t win, but I felt like I won by being a finalist.” Block soon met Ted Swindley, creator and director of the hit Always … Patsy Cline, in Nashville and, to her delight, he became the short-lived director of Seder. “With Ted’s help, and the amazing help of [ASCAP’s] Michael Kerker, who took me under his wing five years ago, we got it into the York Theatre — very hard. Then we got it into Darkhorse, and Ted got it to Tulsa for the two-week fully produced run. We have gotten great receptions everywhere. Then the Gordon Jewish Community Center gave us this opportunity — but Ted is taking Always … Patsy Cline to Broadway, so I’m directing Seder. It’s my directorial debut.” A stellar cast features Tatum Harvey as
Sarah, Michael Visconti as boyfriend John Paul O’Connell, the inimitable Lari White as repressed housewife Susan Trudell, David Williams as Todd Trudell, Francine Berk as Todd’s mother, Charlynn Carter and Joshua Payne as rockers Kelly and Ricky Rock, Jonathan Scott Roth as Darrell Growpus, and Sandy Flavin as the born-again Kitty Carson. Shelley Theriault co-produces Seder, and the rest of the team includes music director Dan Serafini, stage manager Alexis Llherisson, and production manager Kate Poole. “The band is all session players — great Nashville players,” Block says. “The team is great, the whole crew.
“Seder is universal. It touches on all things — following your heart, finding out what’s important to you, and who you really are. It’s about freedom — free yourself to follow your heart and your dreams.” Guess Who’s Coming To Seder? A Delicious New Musical plays March 28, March 30, and March 31 at the Gordon Jewish Community Center, 801 Percy Warner Blvd. Tickets are available now at ticketsnashville.com
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I
f someone arrived at the Nashville Creativity Summit in the middle of a workshop they might think they were entering a party. Fifty or sixty people scattered throughout the cool industrial venue abuzz with a soundtrack of rhythmic drumming. Animated voices lifted to the rafters, engaged in scores of separate conversations being held at once. No, these were not the usual hushed, serious tones of a business conference. The Nashville Creativity Summit hosted Feb. 9-10 by The Skillery was designed to inspire young entrepreneurs through a series of keynote speakers and workshops about branding, social media and design thinking. The event, held at the Emma Bistro, opened with an all-day conference, with the following day featuring a variety of classes participants purchased individually. The Skillery may be the next new wave in adult continuing and community education. “It is an online marketplace for affordable, offline classes and workshops led by experts in the community,” founder Matt Dudley says. “What we are is a place for people to post classes they want to teach and a place for students to find them.” The weekend Summit is an extension of their mission to expand their outreach. Conference participants were a hip and tech-savvy group from a variety of backgrounds, all looking for networking opportunities and for an edge-up in owning and operating their own business. They are the newest generation to take on creative entrepreneurship. Dudley hoped it would be a way to bring likeminded people together to connect and to help each other succeed. Kristen Schleihs attended the conference but did not choose to sign up for the classes. Schleihs is a graphic designer by day, but also an entrepreneur. “I recently launched a men’s facial and hair products line. I’m here trying to build on my knowledge about business strategies,” Schleihs says. Likewise, fellow participant Tiffany Evitl is an accountant who also owns her own jewelry business. The recession put those aspirations and her creative spirit on hold in 2007. “It’s driving me crazy,” she said. “I really want to get back to my business and this conference was a perfect way to get some answers and insight and offered me a way to network.” Evitl said she knew she needed this help to restart her jewelry line. This new approach to adult education is the brainstorm of Matt Dudley. Dudley is a former teacher and an East Nashville resident who was looking for a solution to his dissatisfaction with his career. “The idea came to me when I was working as a teacher. I was frustrated by the inherent flaw that doesn’t give students a way to study what they want to learn most,” Dudley says. Being
a new father and at-home dad lent itself to this home business. The online enterprise launched in November 2011, and Dudley is looking to host more of these weekend learning adventures. “I’m really committed to getting people off the couch and connected. Learning and teaching are community building activities,” Dudley says. Classes are reasonably priced, from free sessions for Diaper Changing 101 to a five-hour letterpress workshop for $125. Most of the classes cost between $25 and $50. The Skillery has had a steady influx of new teachers and those who teach do so again and again. Listing is free, teachers set their price, and The Skillery gets a portion of each ticket sale. “Combining teaching into my business model is a good way to reach a wider audience. It keeps things exciting and fresh for me,” says Katie Gonzalez, owner of linenlaid&felt handmade books. Gonzalez is pleased with her arrangement with The Skillery. “It’s been really great for me. They help me reach folks I wouldn’t be able to reach through art stores,” Gonzalez says. Gonzalez also lives and works in East Nashville. “I’ve lived in Nashville for a year and a half and I’ve been blown away by the sense of community and support for small business.” The first class for her new business was the Miniature Book Christmas Ornament Workshop, and it was also The Skillery’s maiden class in December 2011. Skillery content and social media editor Nicole Keiper took the Ornament Workshop and reports it was a “life-changing experience, and I’ve been doing it ever since.” Dudley says they received many requests for a letterpress ink printing class. In response, The Skillery approached Sawtooth Printhouse about doing a pilot class. Sawtooth works in both letterpress and screen printing and is located in the Inglewood area. Chris Cheney is a co-owner of the shop, which opened in July 2012. The Creativity Summit marks the first time for them to work with The Skillery and they kicked off the event with an Intro to Letterpress class during the weekend summit. Participants typeset their own cards, printed them, cut them out and left with their product in hand. “We really want to do classes and to teach this art form. This event will allow us to see how our space accommodates class work,” Cheney says. “By bringing the passionate and the curious together under one roof, The Skillery makes it easy to take the classes you want, get the skills you need and discover what you love,” Dudley says. The idea is simple: Learning is its own reward. For more information visit their website — http://theskillery.com/learn-more
photos by stacie huckeba
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I
f someone arrived at the Nashville Creativity Summit in the middle of a workshop they might think they were entering a party. Fifty or sixty people scattered throughout the cool industrial venue abuzz with a soundtrack of rhythmic drumming. Animated voices lifted to the rafters, engaged in scores of separate conversations being held at once. No, these were not the usual hushed, serious tones of a business conference. The Nashville Creativity Summit hosted Feb. 9-10 by The Skillery was designed to inspire young entrepreneurs through a series of keynote speakers and workshops about branding, social media and design thinking. The event, held at the Emma Bistro, opened with an all-day conference, with the following day featuring a variety of classes participants purchased individually. The Skillery may be the next new wave in adult continuing and community education. “It is an online marketplace for affordable, offline classes and workshops led by experts in the community,” founder Matt Dudley says. “What we are is a place for people to post classes they want to teach and a place for students to find them.” The weekend Summit is an extension of their mission to expand their outreach. Conference participants were a hip and tech-savvy group from a variety of backgrounds, all looking for networking opportunities and for an edge-up in owning and operating their own business. They are the newest generation to take on creative entrepreneurship. Dudley hoped it would be a way to bring likeminded people together to connect and to help each other succeed. Kristen Schleihs attended the conference but did not choose to sign up for the classes. Schleihs is a graphic designer by day, but also an entrepreneur. “I recently launched a men’s facial and hair products line. I’m here trying to build on my knowledge about business strategies,” Schleihs says. Likewise, fellow participant Tiffany Evitl is an accountant who also owns her own jewelry business. The recession put those aspirations and her creative spirit on hold in 2007. “It’s driving me crazy,” she said. “I really want to get back to my business and this conference was a perfect way to get some answers and insight and offered me a way to network.” Evitl said she knew she needed this help to restart her jewelry line. This new approach to adult education is the brainstorm of Matt Dudley. Dudley is a former teacher and an East Nashville resident who was looking for a solution to his dissatisfaction with his career. “The idea came to me when I was working as a teacher. I was frustrated by the inherent flaw that doesn’t give students a way to study what they want to learn most,” Dudley says. Being
a new father and at-home dad lent itself to this home business. The online enterprise launched in November 2011, and Dudley is looking to host more of these weekend learning adventures. “I’m really committed to getting people off the couch and connected. Learning and teaching are community building activities,” Dudley says. Classes are reasonably priced, from free sessions for Diaper Changing 101 to a five-hour letterpress workshop for $125. Most of the classes cost between $25 and $50. The Skillery has had a steady influx of new teachers and those who teach do so again and again. Listing is free, teachers set their price, and The Skillery gets a portion of each ticket sale. “Combining teaching into my business model is a good way to reach a wider audience. It keeps things exciting and fresh for me,” says Katie Gonzalez, owner of linenlaid&felt handmade books. Gonzalez is pleased with her arrangement with The Skillery. “It’s been really great for me. They help me reach folks I wouldn’t be able to reach through art stores,” Gonzalez says. Gonzalez also lives and works in East Nashville. “I’ve lived in Nashville for a year and a half and I’ve been blown away by the sense of community and support for small business.” The first class for her new business was the Miniature Book Christmas Ornament Workshop, and it was also The Skillery’s maiden class in December 2011. Skillery content and social media editor Nicole Keiper took the Ornament Workshop and reports it was a “life-changing experience, and I’ve been doing it ever since.” Dudley says they received many requests for a letterpress ink printing class. In response, The Skillery approached Sawtooth Printhouse about doing a pilot class. Sawtooth works in both letterpress and screen printing and is located in the Inglewood area. Chris Cheney is a co-owner of the shop, which opened in July 2012. The Creativity Summit marks the first time for them to work with The Skillery and they kicked off the event with an Intro to Letterpress class during the weekend summit. Participants typeset their own cards, printed them, cut them out and left with their product in hand. “We really want to do classes and to teach this art form. This event will allow us to see how our space accommodates class work,” Cheney says. “By bringing the passionate and the curious together under one roof, The Skillery makes it easy to take the classes you want, get the skills you need and discover what you love,” Dudley says. The idea is simple: Learning is its own reward. For more information visit their website — http://theskillery.com/learn-more
photos by stacie huckeba
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Emma Alford, Calendar Editor
UPCOMING OBSERVE AND REPORT
Montessori East Observations
By appointment. March-April, Montessori East
Montessori East will be holding observations throughout March and April for interested families and community members who want to learn more about Maria Montessori’s educational philosophy and methods. They hope to teach parents interested in the program about its unique and peaceful model of learning. Observations last about 45 minutes and are for adults only. Call Montessori’s office to set up your personal observation. 801 Porter Road, 615-226-4588, www.monteastnash.com
watch your step!
have you got to lose, except maybe a little inhibition. 1601 Eastland Ave., 615-300-4388, www.scott-ellis.com
Buffalo Island Clean-up Day
9 a.m. Saturday, March 16, Buffalo Island on Dickerson Road (near the interstate)
Bring along your gloves and a rake and help with the spring cleaning. The Buffalo will thank you. Weed killer and garbage bags will be provided, and the sprucing up will be followed by a free pancake breakfast at Charlie Bob’s Restuarant at 10 a.m. Grace St. and Dickerson Road, www.dickersonroadmerchants.com
LUCK O’ THE IRISH HEADS EAST
St. Patrick’s Festival
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 16, East Park
THIS OLD HOUSE
Old House Fair
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 9, Cohn School
We all know old houses have the most character, but we also know they come with an array of possible problems—whether that’s the ghost in the attic or crummy plumbing. The Tennessee Preservation Trust has partnered with the Metropolitan Historical Commission Foundation to hold a free, daylong festival that will explore and explain the many facets of owning and restoring historic properties. There will be presentations and hands-on demonstrations on a variety of topics, ranging from enhancing energy efficiency to navigating the labyrinth of Metro permits. There will even be children’s activities for the young preservationists out there. 4805 Park Ave., www.nashville.gov
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E A S T S ID E C A L E N D A R
The East Side will be hosting its first very own St. Patty’s celebration this year. With the luck o’ the Irish on your side there will be no lack of food, drinks, or fun. Plenty of food trucks and local artisans will be on-site in search of your gold, but don’t worry — you can trust them more than those mischievous leprechauns. Come enjoy an Irish meal, great music and a stout brew. Seriously though, don’t forget to wear green! 700 Woodland St., www.nashvillestpaddys.com
STRAP ON YOUR SNEAKERS
Run For Our Veterans 5K Saturday, March 23, Vanderbilt campus
Vanderbilt’s Navy ROTC Midshipman and the ASMBA STAR foundation are hosting a 5K for our veterans. Jogging a few miles for the military families that put their lives on the line daily is really the least you can do. Don’t fret, 100 percent of the proceeds will go toward the ASMBA STAR foundation and the Tennessee Fisher House. Both of the organizations are dedicated to offering humanitarian care for veterans that goes above and beyond what the Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs can provide. Register at www.active.com by searching for “Run for Veterans.” 228-223-6738, www.vanderbilt. edu
SMOOTH AS A BABY’S BOTTOM
Cloth Diapering 101
10 a.m. Saturday, March 23, The Green Wagon
DANCE ON A RAINBOW
Ceili Dance
6 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 22, Eastwood Church Fellowship Hall
You know you want to. You’ve always wanted to. Isn’t about time you did? Well, here’s your chance! Get your green on and join the fun, dancing the night away the Irish way. A bit step dance, a wee bit jig, with some quadrilles thrown in for luck, the Ceili dance is the most popular form of Irish folk dancing. With a $10 recommended donation what
Tired of buying a jumbo pack of Pampers and running out before the weekend? Well, there is a much cheaper, much greener solution to the problem. Smile Mommy is a cloth diaper service that picks up and delivers cloth diapers to your home. They’ll be teaching a free workshop on the basics of cloth diapering for interested mommies fed up with disposables. They’ll show you how to change, clean and sustain cloth diapers to avoid the waste of throwing away disposable diapers. Email info@smilemommy.com to register. 1100 Forrest Ave., www.smilemommy.com
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Emma Alford, Calendar Editor
UPCOMING OBSERVE AND REPORT
Montessori East Observations
By appointment. March-April, Montessori East
Montessori East will be holding observations throughout March and April for interested families and community members who want to learn more about Maria Montessori’s educational philosophy and methods. They hope to teach parents interested in the program about its unique and peaceful model of learning. Observations last about 45 minutes and are for adults only. Call Montessori’s office to set up your personal observation. 801 Porter Road, 615-226-4588, www.monteastnash.com
watch your step!
have you got to lose, except maybe a little inhibition. 1601 Eastland Ave., 615-300-4388, www.scott-ellis.com
Buffalo Island Clean-up Day
9 a.m. Saturday, March 16, Buffalo Island on Dickerson Road (near the interstate)
Bring along your gloves and a rake and help with the spring cleaning. The Buffalo will thank you. Weed killer and garbage bags will be provided, and the sprucing up will be followed by a free pancake breakfast at Charlie Bob’s Restuarant at 10 a.m. Grace St. and Dickerson Road, www.dickersonroadmerchants.com
LUCK O’ THE IRISH HEADS EAST
St. Patrick’s Festival
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 16, East Park
THIS OLD HOUSE
Old House Fair
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 9, Cohn School
We all know old houses have the most character, but we also know they come with an array of possible problems—whether that’s the ghost in the attic or crummy plumbing. The Tennessee Preservation Trust has partnered with the Metropolitan Historical Commission Foundation to hold a free, daylong festival that will explore and explain the many facets of owning and restoring historic properties. There will be presentations and hands-on demonstrations on a variety of topics, ranging from enhancing energy efficiency to navigating the labyrinth of Metro permits. There will even be children’s activities for the young preservationists out there. 4805 Park Ave., www.nashville.gov
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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
E A S T S ID E C A L E N D A R
The East Side will be hosting its first very own St. Patty’s celebration this year. With the luck o’ the Irish on your side there will be no lack of food, drinks, or fun. Plenty of food trucks and local artisans will be on-site in search of your gold, but don’t worry — you can trust them more than those mischievous leprechauns. Come enjoy an Irish meal, great music and a stout brew. Seriously though, don’t forget to wear green! 700 Woodland St., www.nashvillestpaddys.com
STRAP ON YOUR SNEAKERS
Run For Our Veterans 5K Saturday, March 23, Vanderbilt campus
Vanderbilt’s Navy ROTC Midshipman and the ASMBA STAR foundation are hosting a 5K for our veterans. Jogging a few miles for the military families that put their lives on the line daily is really the least you can do. Don’t fret, 100 percent of the proceeds will go toward the ASMBA STAR foundation and the Tennessee Fisher House. Both of the organizations are dedicated to offering humanitarian care for veterans that goes above and beyond what the Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs can provide. Register at www.active.com by searching for “Run for Veterans.” 228-223-6738, www.vanderbilt. edu
SMOOTH AS A BABY’S BOTTOM
Cloth Diapering 101
10 a.m. Saturday, March 23, The Green Wagon
DANCE ON A RAINBOW
Ceili Dance
6 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 22, Eastwood Church Fellowship Hall
You know you want to. You’ve always wanted to. Isn’t about time you did? Well, here’s your chance! Get your green on and join the fun, dancing the night away the Irish way. A bit step dance, a wee bit jig, with some quadrilles thrown in for luck, the Ceili dance is the most popular form of Irish folk dancing. With a $10 recommended donation what
Tired of buying a jumbo pack of Pampers and running out before the weekend? Well, there is a much cheaper, much greener solution to the problem. Smile Mommy is a cloth diaper service that picks up and delivers cloth diapers to your home. They’ll be teaching a free workshop on the basics of cloth diapering for interested mommies fed up with disposables. They’ll show you how to change, clean and sustain cloth diapers to avoid the waste of throwing away disposable diapers. Email info@smilemommy.com to register. 1100 Forrest Ave., www.smilemommy.com
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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E A S T S ID E C A L E N D A R
TAKE A HIKE
BACK TO SCHOOL
Spring Is In The Air Afternoon Hike
Montessori East Open House
5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, Montessori East
2 to 3 p.m. Friday, March 29, Shelby Bottoms Nature Center
Spring has returned and Punxsutawney Phil is out of his hole for the sunny season. It’s time to get into the great outdoors and appreciate the beautiful blooming environment, and there’s no better place to do that than the East Side’s own Shelby Park. Shelby Bottoms will be hosting a leisurely nature hike for all ages this March, so strap on your sneakers and sunshades to get your dose of fresh air. For more information email shelbybottomsnature@nashville.gov
Montessori East will be opening up its facilities for interested families to come by and check out the school to see if it’s the right fit for their little ones. Montessori accepts children ages 2.5 to 6 into their program, which offers a holistic approach to education. Montessori’s lead teachers will be there during the open house so that parents can have a chance to meet and greet; they can also ask them any questions they may have. Children are welcome to attend so they can explore the classrooms and get a feel for the place. 801 Porter Road, 615-2264588 www.monteastnash.com
your own Kombucha tea. It’s delicious and won’t rot your insides — it does just the opposite by detoxifying your body and strengthening your immune system. Kelly Snavely of Booch Tea will lead a workshop on Kombucha, where you can learn about all of its health benefits and how to brew it in your own home. All workshoppers will receive a home brewing kit and valuable advice on getting started and recipes. Registration is $25 online at www.theskillery. com. 1100 Forest Ave., 615-891-1878, www. thegreenwagon.com
Art on the East Side
Second Saturday Art Crawl
THANK YOU, EASTER BUNNY!
FIDDLE-LESS EVENING AT THE FIDDLE HOUSE
East Egg-stravaganza
10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, March 30, Cleveland Park Community Center
Music, food, games and the chance to watch hundreds of children knock each other to the ground over candy-filled plastic eggs. The Easter Bunny’s taller, upright-walking sibling might be there to pose for photos as well. How else would you rather kick off your Saturday? 610 N. Sixth St., www.facebook.com/groups/ ClevelandPark
At the HOP
The Murphy Beds
7 p.m. Sunday, April 7, The Fiddle House
The jammin’ New York duo The Murphy Beds will be stomping their feet at The Fiddle House this March. Eamon O’Leary (bouzouki, vocals) and Jefferson Hamer (guitar, vocals) mesh their unique voices and instruments into a hybrid performance of Irish and American songs. If you’re looking for a good pickin’ party to attend, drop in on this show. The Fiddle House normally sticks to fiddle-themed concerts, but this is one talented exception to their rule. Tickets are $10, but call ahead of time to ensure you’ll grab a spot in the intimate pseudo-living room setting the House offers. 1009 Clearview Ave., 615-730-8402, www.thefiddlehouse.com
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
EASTWOOD ENSEMBLE ON EASTLAND
3 p.m. Sunday, April 14, Eastwood Christian Church
East End’s annual egg hunt is a fun-filled morning of games, crafts, face-painting, snacks, a parade and of course, searching for lots and lots of eggs filled with candy and prizes. The Easter Bunny will be showing up for photo ops as well. 1212 Holly St., 615-227-3272, www. eastendumc.org
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Can’t get enough of great art? Well, 5 Points has the perfect evening planned for you —their Second Saturday Art Crawl has returned with the spring weather. The neighborhood’s art galleries and small businesses will open their doors after hours, so you can meander through to appreciate some great work by local, regional and national artists. It won’t cost you a single penny, unless you just can’t resist the call of a Bushwacker or burger from 3 Crow. East Side Story will also be hosting the next chapter of Beyond Books, so be sure to scoot over there while you make your rounds.
Eastwood Ensemble Recital
HOP East!
10 a.m. Saturday, March 30, East End United Methodist Church
6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 13, 5 Points
KOMBUCHA IN YOUR KITCHEN
Kombucha Making Workshop
10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, April 13, The Green Wagon
Forget those Brisk Lemon Teas you buy from the office vending machine and learn to make
March | April 2013
Virtuosos of the Eastwood Ensemble will be putting on a show for the public at Eastwood Christian Church this spring. The show is completely free, but they’ll be accepting donations for the Real Moms and Real Families of East Nashville charity, which will receive 100 percent of the proceeds from the event. They’ll be playing some classical greats from Beethoven, Prokofiev, Morton Gould, and many more. Jonell Mosser will also perform some of her original material during the recital. The
Eastwood Ensemble is an arrangement of professional musicians from East Nashville who meet up to provide the area with an opportunity to hear chamber music in a casual and fun atmosphere, all while promoting local artists, businesses and non-profits. Like them on Facebook to keep up to date with their events. www. eastwood-ensemble.org
you need? It’s the bee’s knees. Further details about the event will be posted to the pavilion’s website as the event nears. 1006 Fatherland St., www.east-centric.com
FOR THE RECORD …
Record Store Day
LET’S TOAST TO LITERACY th
11 Annual Wine Tasting and Silent Auction Benefit 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 19, St. Ann’s Episcopal Church
Looking for an admirable cause to have a glass of wine and bid on some auctioned goods? East Nashville Hope Exchange, a nonprofit summer program that promotes and teaches literacy and interpersonal skills to economically disadvantaged children in East Nashville, is hosting its annual benefit. Last year’s event raised over $20,000 for the program. There will be wine selections from around the world and more than 100 silent auctions up for grabs, including sports memorabilia, original artwork and restaurant gift certificates. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased in advance at www.stannsnashville.org/tix or at the door. For further information email office@stannsnashville.org. 419 Woodland St., 615-254-3534
WHAT’S THE BUZZ?
Honey Bee Festival
11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 20, East-Centric Pavilion
Spring is fast approaching; flowers will soon be blooming and bees will start buzzing. What better time to host a festival celebrating all things bees? East-Centric has put together a family-friendly event themed around the bumblebees of the world and the honey they produce. There will be plenty of the sweet sticky stuff to see, sample and smell. With games, music and beekeepers in tow, what else do
10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 20, The Groove
Drop your iPods, dust off your record player and head to The Groove to celebrate National Record Store day. Sure you can sit on your couch and download every Creedence album, but there is something entirely more charming about holding it in your hand. Not only will you be able to scour the store’s awesome instore and sidewalk sales, there’ll be some local craft beer on-site — and, of course, live music. Bands will be playing outdoors throughout the day, and there will also be a handful of local artisans and vendors selling their handcrafted goods. Who can turn down a free show? Don’t miss a beat. 1103 Calvin Ave., 615-227-5760, www.thegroovenashville.com
LOVE YOUR PLANET
Nashville’s Earth Day Festival
11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 20, Centennial Park
Al Gore shouldn’t be the only one worried about how environmentally conscious and energy-efficient we are on our little blue planet. Maybe you can’t save the ice caps or polar bears in an afternoon, but you can learn ways to make yourself and your family more eco-friendly. Nashville’s Earth Day festival is a free event with live music and fun exhibits and activities to help educate us Homo sapiens on how to treat our terra firma. There will be plenty of hands-on activities, workshops and family-friendly booths for all ages. Come out and show your love for the blue marble we call home. 2500 West End Ave.
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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E A S T S ID E C A L E N D A R
TAKE A HIKE
BACK TO SCHOOL
Spring Is In The Air Afternoon Hike
Montessori East Open House
5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, Montessori East
2 to 3 p.m. Friday, March 29, Shelby Bottoms Nature Center
Spring has returned and Punxsutawney Phil is out of his hole for the sunny season. It’s time to get into the great outdoors and appreciate the beautiful blooming environment, and there’s no better place to do that than the East Side’s own Shelby Park. Shelby Bottoms will be hosting a leisurely nature hike for all ages this March, so strap on your sneakers and sunshades to get your dose of fresh air. For more information email shelbybottomsnature@nashville.gov
Montessori East will be opening up its facilities for interested families to come by and check out the school to see if it’s the right fit for their little ones. Montessori accepts children ages 2.5 to 6 into their program, which offers a holistic approach to education. Montessori’s lead teachers will be there during the open house so that parents can have a chance to meet and greet; they can also ask them any questions they may have. Children are welcome to attend so they can explore the classrooms and get a feel for the place. 801 Porter Road, 615-2264588 www.monteastnash.com
your own Kombucha tea. It’s delicious and won’t rot your insides — it does just the opposite by detoxifying your body and strengthening your immune system. Kelly Snavely of Booch Tea will lead a workshop on Kombucha, where you can learn about all of its health benefits and how to brew it in your own home. All workshoppers will receive a home brewing kit and valuable advice on getting started and recipes. Registration is $25 online at www.theskillery. com. 1100 Forest Ave., 615-891-1878, www. thegreenwagon.com
Art on the East Side
Second Saturday Art Crawl
THANK YOU, EASTER BUNNY!
FIDDLE-LESS EVENING AT THE FIDDLE HOUSE
East Egg-stravaganza
10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, March 30, Cleveland Park Community Center
Music, food, games and the chance to watch hundreds of children knock each other to the ground over candy-filled plastic eggs. The Easter Bunny’s taller, upright-walking sibling might be there to pose for photos as well. How else would you rather kick off your Saturday? 610 N. Sixth St., www.facebook.com/groups/ ClevelandPark
At the HOP
The Murphy Beds
7 p.m. Sunday, April 7, The Fiddle House
The jammin’ New York duo The Murphy Beds will be stomping their feet at The Fiddle House this March. Eamon O’Leary (bouzouki, vocals) and Jefferson Hamer (guitar, vocals) mesh their unique voices and instruments into a hybrid performance of Irish and American songs. If you’re looking for a good pickin’ party to attend, drop in on this show. The Fiddle House normally sticks to fiddle-themed concerts, but this is one talented exception to their rule. Tickets are $10, but call ahead of time to ensure you’ll grab a spot in the intimate pseudo-living room setting the House offers. 1009 Clearview Ave., 615-730-8402, www.thefiddlehouse.com
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
EASTWOOD ENSEMBLE ON EASTLAND
3 p.m. Sunday, April 14, Eastwood Christian Church
East End’s annual egg hunt is a fun-filled morning of games, crafts, face-painting, snacks, a parade and of course, searching for lots and lots of eggs filled with candy and prizes. The Easter Bunny will be showing up for photo ops as well. 1212 Holly St., 615-227-3272, www. eastendumc.org
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Can’t get enough of great art? Well, 5 Points has the perfect evening planned for you —their Second Saturday Art Crawl has returned with the spring weather. The neighborhood’s art galleries and small businesses will open their doors after hours, so you can meander through to appreciate some great work by local, regional and national artists. It won’t cost you a single penny, unless you just can’t resist the call of a Bushwacker or burger from 3 Crow. East Side Story will also be hosting the next chapter of Beyond Books, so be sure to scoot over there while you make your rounds.
Eastwood Ensemble Recital
HOP East!
10 a.m. Saturday, March 30, East End United Methodist Church
6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 13, 5 Points
KOMBUCHA IN YOUR KITCHEN
Kombucha Making Workshop
10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, April 13, The Green Wagon
Forget those Brisk Lemon Teas you buy from the office vending machine and learn to make
March | April 2013
Virtuosos of the Eastwood Ensemble will be putting on a show for the public at Eastwood Christian Church this spring. The show is completely free, but they’ll be accepting donations for the Real Moms and Real Families of East Nashville charity, which will receive 100 percent of the proceeds from the event. They’ll be playing some classical greats from Beethoven, Prokofiev, Morton Gould, and many more. Jonell Mosser will also perform some of her original material during the recital. The
Eastwood Ensemble is an arrangement of professional musicians from East Nashville who meet up to provide the area with an opportunity to hear chamber music in a casual and fun atmosphere, all while promoting local artists, businesses and non-profits. Like them on Facebook to keep up to date with their events. www. eastwood-ensemble.org
you need? It’s the bee’s knees. Further details about the event will be posted to the pavilion’s website as the event nears. 1006 Fatherland St., www.east-centric.com
FOR THE RECORD …
Record Store Day
LET’S TOAST TO LITERACY th
11 Annual Wine Tasting and Silent Auction Benefit 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 19, St. Ann’s Episcopal Church
Looking for an admirable cause to have a glass of wine and bid on some auctioned goods? East Nashville Hope Exchange, a nonprofit summer program that promotes and teaches literacy and interpersonal skills to economically disadvantaged children in East Nashville, is hosting its annual benefit. Last year’s event raised over $20,000 for the program. There will be wine selections from around the world and more than 100 silent auctions up for grabs, including sports memorabilia, original artwork and restaurant gift certificates. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased in advance at www.stannsnashville.org/tix or at the door. For further information email office@stannsnashville.org. 419 Woodland St., 615-254-3534
WHAT’S THE BUZZ?
Honey Bee Festival
11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 20, East-Centric Pavilion
Spring is fast approaching; flowers will soon be blooming and bees will start buzzing. What better time to host a festival celebrating all things bees? East-Centric has put together a family-friendly event themed around the bumblebees of the world and the honey they produce. There will be plenty of the sweet sticky stuff to see, sample and smell. With games, music and beekeepers in tow, what else do
10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 20, The Groove
Drop your iPods, dust off your record player and head to The Groove to celebrate National Record Store day. Sure you can sit on your couch and download every Creedence album, but there is something entirely more charming about holding it in your hand. Not only will you be able to scour the store’s awesome instore and sidewalk sales, there’ll be some local craft beer on-site — and, of course, live music. Bands will be playing outdoors throughout the day, and there will also be a handful of local artisans and vendors selling their handcrafted goods. Who can turn down a free show? Don’t miss a beat. 1103 Calvin Ave., 615-227-5760, www.thegroovenashville.com
LOVE YOUR PLANET
Nashville’s Earth Day Festival
11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 20, Centennial Park
Al Gore shouldn’t be the only one worried about how environmentally conscious and energy-efficient we are on our little blue planet. Maybe you can’t save the ice caps or polar bears in an afternoon, but you can learn ways to make yourself and your family more eco-friendly. Nashville’s Earth Day festival is a free event with live music and fun exhibits and activities to help educate us Homo sapiens on how to treat our terra firma. There will be plenty of hands-on activities, workshops and family-friendly booths for all ages. Come out and show your love for the blue marble we call home. 2500 West End Ave.
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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E A S T S ID E C A L E N D A R
E A S T S ID E C A L E N D A R
recurring
HAVE YOUR PIE AND DRINK A PINT, TOO
$10 Pint & Pie Night
6 p.m. to midnight Tuesdays, The Family Wash
STOP, SHOP AND SWAP FOR THE SONGSTERS
Nashville’s Musician’s Swap Meet
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. the first Sunday of each month, The Building
If you’re among the sea of musicians and songwriters in Nashville, you might want to drop in on the monthly Musician’s Swap Meet at The Building in 5 Points. The musically inclined gather to buy, sell and trade their gear. There’s always a smattering of various musical odds and ends — guitars, drums, amps, fiddles, horns, you name it. You’ll also find vinyl, artwork, clothing and other music-related memorabilia. This folky flea market of sorts is free and open to the public. Stop by, grab a coffee at Bongo Java, grub down at Drifter’s and check out the musical arsenal. If you’re interested in renting a booth for the swap, contact Dino Bradley at 615-593-7497, 1008-C Woodland Street.
SHAKE A LEG
Keep On Movin’
10 p.m. until close Mondays, The 5 Spot
For those looking to hit the dance floor on Monday nights, The 5 Spot’s “Keep on Movin’” dance party is the place to be. This shindig keeps it real with old-school soul, funk and R&B. Don’t worry, you won’t hear Ke$ha — although you might see her — and you can leave your Apple Bottom jeans at home. If you have two left feet, then snag a seat at the bar. They have two-for-one drink specials, so you can use the money you save on a cover to fill your cup. 1006 Forrest Ave., 615-650-9333, www.the5spotlive.com
Every Tuesday night at The Family Wash, you can score a pint of beer and a shepherd’s pie for just $10. The reigning music venue on the East Side, The Wash is home to an abundance of good music, and on Tuesdays, the club plays host to the long-running songwriter series, Shortsets, hosted by Cole and Paul Slivka. They offer a wide selection of craft beer, and they even have a vegetarian shepherd’s pie for herbivores. So sit back and enjoy the show, along with your pint and pie. 2038 Greenwood Ave., 615-226-6070, www. familywash.com
FAT BOTTOM FOR YOUR BUCK
$10 Pint and Entrée Special
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
TELL ME A STORY
East Side Storytellin’
7 p.m. the first and third Tuesdays of each month, Fat Bottom Brewery
Looking for something to get your creative juices flowing? East Side Story has got you covered. They’ve partnered with WAMB radio and Fat Bottom to present an all-out affair with book readings, musical performances and author/musician interviews all in one evening. They host this lovely event twice each month, usually on the first and third Tuesday. Check the website to see who the guests of honor will be for each performance. The event is free, but you’ll have to reserve a spot by calling. 1112 Woodland St., 615-262-5346, www.eastsidestorytn.com
4 p.m. until close Tuesdays, Fat Bottom Brewery
Q: What’s better than a craft beer and a tasty meal? A: Cheap craft beer and a tasty meal. At Fat Bottom Brewery you can grab a pint of their liquid courage and an entrée for just $10 on Tuesdays. Peruse their beer garden and pick your poison; they’ve got plenty of options for the seasoned beer drinker. They’re always kegging fresh batches and pouring cold ones, so stop by to get your fix. 900 Main St., www.fatbottombrewing.com
rinc, y’all
Scott-Ellis School of Irish Dance 4:30 to 5 p.m. ages 3-6, and 5 to 5:45 p.m. ages 7 & up, Mondays, Eastwood Christian Church Fellowship Hall
You’re never too young — or too old — to kick out the Gaelic jams with some Irish
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Step dancing. No experience, or partner, required. Just you, some enthusiasm and a heart of gold will have you dancing in the clover before you can say “leprechaun.” 1601 Eastland Ave., 615-300-4388, www.scott-ellis. com
March | April 2013
A FIDDLE OF THIS AND A FIDDLE OF THAT
Old Time Jam
7 p.m. until close Wednesdays, The 5 Spot
The 5 Spot’s weekly “Old Time Jam” is a musical call to arms for all of East Nashville’s pickers and grinners. Bring your acoustic weapon of choice to play with the menagerie of musicians who turn up each Wednesday night. Share tunes and swap stories with the regulars. This bluegrass ball isn’t just for musicians though. Even if you can’t strum a chord, you can sit back and enjoy the rootsy jams. There is no cover, and beers are discounted a buck. 1006 Forrest Ave., 615-6509333, www.the5spotlive.com
LEND ME YOUR EAR
Supper and Song
7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays, Sky Blue Café
The neighborhood restaurant Sky Blue Café has begun opening its doors in the evening for the dinner crowd. Audrey Auld, an Australian singer-songwriter, saw this as an opportunity to liven up the café with some tunes. Auld is a country/Americana performer and each week she plays and invites other musicians to join in on the fun. Stop in, savor a good meal with some beer, wine or coffee and enjoy the music. There is no cover and dinner is served till 11 p.m. 700 Fatherland St., 615-770-7097, www.skybluecoffee.com
TROUBADOURS AND VIRTUOSOS UNITE
Plowhaus Presents
6 p.m. the third Thursday of each month, The Building Plowhaus Art Gallery has come up with a unique way to combine the worlds of visual and musical artists together in one evening. Each month Plowhaus seeks out intriguing artists and displays their work while musicians play a few sets of their best stuff. Think of it as a hybrid art opening/rock show. Plowhaus is hoping to promote camaraderie, collaboration and fusion between the various disciplines of the arts. Come join in on this artistic amalgamation. Tickets are $10 on pre-sale or $15 the day of the event. They can be purchased at The Groove record store. 1008-C Woodland St., 615-300-7400, www. plowhaus.org
PARTY AT THE PAVILION
Pavilion, Brews and Jams
5 p.m. the first Friday of each month, East-Centric Pavilion
East-Centric is kicking off its own signature party, Pavilion, Brews and Jams (PB&J) this April. The first Friday of each month they’ll
invite everyone out to enjoy some good tunes, good ale and good vibes. There will be a music jam session with a mixture of local artists each month and plenty of cold brewskies to go around. Tune in to their website and Facebook page to see which artists will be playing the bill and what the cover will run you. 1006 Fatherland St., www.east-centric.com
ance, sign yourself up for some of Cannon’s classes. 1108-C Woodland St., 615-496-1259, www.johncannonart.com
CHICKS AND GIGGLES
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursdays, Beyond the Edge
Girl on Girl Comedy
8 p.m. the last Friday of each month, Mad Donna’s Once a month, Mad Donna’s hosts a standup comedy series, Girl on Girl Comedy. Nearly all the performers are women, although sometimes a guy is brave enough to take the stage. Girl on Girl is the brainchild of Christy Eidson, who hosts the show. Eidson has been doing comedy for more than 10 years. Once in awhile, they mix things up a bit with music, burlesque and the occasional male pole dancer. They even hand out prizes. Be forewarned: This is an R-rated event, so if you can’t handle anything raunchy or risqué, Girl on Girl is not for you. The show is 18 and up. Admission is $10 a head or $15 for couples. Show up early, snag a good seat and have a nice dinner before the debauchery begins. 1313 Woodland St., 615-226-1617, www.maddonnas.com
ART IS FOR EVERYONE
John Cannon Fine Art classes
6 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. Saturdays, The Idea Hatchery
If you’ve been filling in coloring book pages for years, but you’re too intimidated to put actual paint to canvas, it might be time you give it a try. Local artist John Cannon has been teaching art classes at The Idea Hatchery since September. These are small, intimate classes; this keeps the sessions low pressure and allows for some individual oneon-one instruction. If you’re feeling like you could be the next Matisse with a little guid-
HONESTLY, OFFICER ...
East Nashville Crime Prevention meeting
Join your neighbors to talk about crime stats, trends and various other issues with East precinct commander David Imhof, community affairs coordinator Dan Ogren and head of investigation Lt. Greg Blair. If you are new to the East Side, get up to speed on criminal activity in the area. If you are a recent victim of crime, they want to hear your story. 112 S. 11th St., 615-226-3343
BRINGIN’ DOWN THE HOUSE
After-Hours Jams
7 p.m. Thursdays, The Fiddle House
Every Thursday, The Fiddle House, a full-service acoustic string shop, keeps its doors open for an after-hours jam. Each week, they alternate between “old time” and “bluegrass” sessions. Sometimes only a few fiddlers show up for the soirees, but other nights the House is packed out. If you like to pick or if you just want to hear a good jam, check this place out next time you’re free on Thursday night. All skill levels are welcome and this pickin’ parlor is free. The music kicks off at 7 p.m. and ends whenever they feel like calling it a night. 1009 Clearview Ave., 615-730-8402, www.thefiddlehouse.com
PALAVER POW wOW
Palaver Thursday showcase 9 p.m. Thursdays, FooBar Too
Looking to hear some fresh new tunes with-
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E A S T S ID E C A L E N D A R
E A S T S ID E C A L E N D A R
recurring
HAVE YOUR PIE AND DRINK A PINT, TOO
$10 Pint & Pie Night
6 p.m. to midnight Tuesdays, The Family Wash
STOP, SHOP AND SWAP FOR THE SONGSTERS
Nashville’s Musician’s Swap Meet
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. the first Sunday of each month, The Building
If you’re among the sea of musicians and songwriters in Nashville, you might want to drop in on the monthly Musician’s Swap Meet at The Building in 5 Points. The musically inclined gather to buy, sell and trade their gear. There’s always a smattering of various musical odds and ends — guitars, drums, amps, fiddles, horns, you name it. You’ll also find vinyl, artwork, clothing and other music-related memorabilia. This folky flea market of sorts is free and open to the public. Stop by, grab a coffee at Bongo Java, grub down at Drifter’s and check out the musical arsenal. If you’re interested in renting a booth for the swap, contact Dino Bradley at 615-593-7497, 1008-C Woodland Street.
SHAKE A LEG
Keep On Movin’
10 p.m. until close Mondays, The 5 Spot
For those looking to hit the dance floor on Monday nights, The 5 Spot’s “Keep on Movin’” dance party is the place to be. This shindig keeps it real with old-school soul, funk and R&B. Don’t worry, you won’t hear Ke$ha — although you might see her — and you can leave your Apple Bottom jeans at home. If you have two left feet, then snag a seat at the bar. They have two-for-one drink specials, so you can use the money you save on a cover to fill your cup. 1006 Forrest Ave., 615-650-9333, www.the5spotlive.com
Every Tuesday night at The Family Wash, you can score a pint of beer and a shepherd’s pie for just $10. The reigning music venue on the East Side, The Wash is home to an abundance of good music, and on Tuesdays, the club plays host to the long-running songwriter series, Shortsets, hosted by Cole and Paul Slivka. They offer a wide selection of craft beer, and they even have a vegetarian shepherd’s pie for herbivores. So sit back and enjoy the show, along with your pint and pie. 2038 Greenwood Ave., 615-226-6070, www. familywash.com
FAT BOTTOM FOR YOUR BUCK
$10 Pint and Entrée Special
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
TELL ME A STORY
East Side Storytellin’
7 p.m. the first and third Tuesdays of each month, Fat Bottom Brewery
Looking for something to get your creative juices flowing? East Side Story has got you covered. They’ve partnered with WAMB radio and Fat Bottom to present an all-out affair with book readings, musical performances and author/musician interviews all in one evening. They host this lovely event twice each month, usually on the first and third Tuesday. Check the website to see who the guests of honor will be for each performance. The event is free, but you’ll have to reserve a spot by calling. 1112 Woodland St., 615-262-5346, www.eastsidestorytn.com
4 p.m. until close Tuesdays, Fat Bottom Brewery
Q: What’s better than a craft beer and a tasty meal? A: Cheap craft beer and a tasty meal. At Fat Bottom Brewery you can grab a pint of their liquid courage and an entrée for just $10 on Tuesdays. Peruse their beer garden and pick your poison; they’ve got plenty of options for the seasoned beer drinker. They’re always kegging fresh batches and pouring cold ones, so stop by to get your fix. 900 Main St., www.fatbottombrewing.com
rinc, y’all
Scott-Ellis School of Irish Dance 4:30 to 5 p.m. ages 3-6, and 5 to 5:45 p.m. ages 7 & up, Mondays, Eastwood Christian Church Fellowship Hall
You’re never too young — or too old — to kick out the Gaelic jams with some Irish
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Step dancing. No experience, or partner, required. Just you, some enthusiasm and a heart of gold will have you dancing in the clover before you can say “leprechaun.” 1601 Eastland Ave., 615-300-4388, www.scott-ellis. com
March | April 2013
A FIDDLE OF THIS AND A FIDDLE OF THAT
Old Time Jam
7 p.m. until close Wednesdays, The 5 Spot
The 5 Spot’s weekly “Old Time Jam” is a musical call to arms for all of East Nashville’s pickers and grinners. Bring your acoustic weapon of choice to play with the menagerie of musicians who turn up each Wednesday night. Share tunes and swap stories with the regulars. This bluegrass ball isn’t just for musicians though. Even if you can’t strum a chord, you can sit back and enjoy the rootsy jams. There is no cover, and beers are discounted a buck. 1006 Forrest Ave., 615-6509333, www.the5spotlive.com
LEND ME YOUR EAR
Supper and Song
7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays, Sky Blue Café
The neighborhood restaurant Sky Blue Café has begun opening its doors in the evening for the dinner crowd. Audrey Auld, an Australian singer-songwriter, saw this as an opportunity to liven up the café with some tunes. Auld is a country/Americana performer and each week she plays and invites other musicians to join in on the fun. Stop in, savor a good meal with some beer, wine or coffee and enjoy the music. There is no cover and dinner is served till 11 p.m. 700 Fatherland St., 615-770-7097, www.skybluecoffee.com
TROUBADOURS AND VIRTUOSOS UNITE
Plowhaus Presents
6 p.m. the third Thursday of each month, The Building Plowhaus Art Gallery has come up with a unique way to combine the worlds of visual and musical artists together in one evening. Each month Plowhaus seeks out intriguing artists and displays their work while musicians play a few sets of their best stuff. Think of it as a hybrid art opening/rock show. Plowhaus is hoping to promote camaraderie, collaboration and fusion between the various disciplines of the arts. Come join in on this artistic amalgamation. Tickets are $10 on pre-sale or $15 the day of the event. They can be purchased at The Groove record store. 1008-C Woodland St., 615-300-7400, www. plowhaus.org
PARTY AT THE PAVILION
Pavilion, Brews and Jams
5 p.m. the first Friday of each month, East-Centric Pavilion
East-Centric is kicking off its own signature party, Pavilion, Brews and Jams (PB&J) this April. The first Friday of each month they’ll
invite everyone out to enjoy some good tunes, good ale and good vibes. There will be a music jam session with a mixture of local artists each month and plenty of cold brewskies to go around. Tune in to their website and Facebook page to see which artists will be playing the bill and what the cover will run you. 1006 Fatherland St., www.east-centric.com
ance, sign yourself up for some of Cannon’s classes. 1108-C Woodland St., 615-496-1259, www.johncannonart.com
CHICKS AND GIGGLES
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursdays, Beyond the Edge
Girl on Girl Comedy
8 p.m. the last Friday of each month, Mad Donna’s Once a month, Mad Donna’s hosts a standup comedy series, Girl on Girl Comedy. Nearly all the performers are women, although sometimes a guy is brave enough to take the stage. Girl on Girl is the brainchild of Christy Eidson, who hosts the show. Eidson has been doing comedy for more than 10 years. Once in awhile, they mix things up a bit with music, burlesque and the occasional male pole dancer. They even hand out prizes. Be forewarned: This is an R-rated event, so if you can’t handle anything raunchy or risqué, Girl on Girl is not for you. The show is 18 and up. Admission is $10 a head or $15 for couples. Show up early, snag a good seat and have a nice dinner before the debauchery begins. 1313 Woodland St., 615-226-1617, www.maddonnas.com
ART IS FOR EVERYONE
John Cannon Fine Art classes
6 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. Saturdays, The Idea Hatchery
If you’ve been filling in coloring book pages for years, but you’re too intimidated to put actual paint to canvas, it might be time you give it a try. Local artist John Cannon has been teaching art classes at The Idea Hatchery since September. These are small, intimate classes; this keeps the sessions low pressure and allows for some individual oneon-one instruction. If you’re feeling like you could be the next Matisse with a little guid-
HONESTLY, OFFICER ...
East Nashville Crime Prevention meeting
Join your neighbors to talk about crime stats, trends and various other issues with East precinct commander David Imhof, community affairs coordinator Dan Ogren and head of investigation Lt. Greg Blair. If you are new to the East Side, get up to speed on criminal activity in the area. If you are a recent victim of crime, they want to hear your story. 112 S. 11th St., 615-226-3343
BRINGIN’ DOWN THE HOUSE
After-Hours Jams
7 p.m. Thursdays, The Fiddle House
Every Thursday, The Fiddle House, a full-service acoustic string shop, keeps its doors open for an after-hours jam. Each week, they alternate between “old time” and “bluegrass” sessions. Sometimes only a few fiddlers show up for the soirees, but other nights the House is packed out. If you like to pick or if you just want to hear a good jam, check this place out next time you’re free on Thursday night. All skill levels are welcome and this pickin’ parlor is free. The music kicks off at 7 p.m. and ends whenever they feel like calling it a night. 1009 Clearview Ave., 615-730-8402, www.thefiddlehouse.com
PALAVER POW wOW
Palaver Thursday showcase 9 p.m. Thursdays, FooBar Too
Looking to hear some fresh new tunes with-
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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E A S T S ID E C A L E N D A R
out paying a pretty penny to do it? Head over to FooBar on Thursday nights — East Nasty-based record label Palaver Records hosts a weekly showcase to promote both local and traveling acts. It gives them a chance to scout performers, bands an opportunity to promote themselves, and gives music lovers a cheap show to catch during the week (only $3 at the door—you can’t beat that in Music City). You can see an array of different genres from week to week, and the beer always flows easy at FooBar with $3 drafts. 2511 Gallatin Road, www.palaverrecords.com
6 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, The Family Wash
It’s only appropriate that a venue named The Family Wash hosts a family night once a week. Every Wednesday, kids eat free at The Wash and Professor Smartypants hosts. They call him the “master of disguise and intrigue.” He tells jokes and sings songs, but his comedy isn’t just for the kiddies; parents will enjoy his humor, too. Professor Smartypants goes on at 6:30 p.m. sharp, so don’t be late. 2038 Greenwood Ave., 615-226-6070, www. familywash.com
The Cleveland Park Neighborhood Association meets monthly at the Cleveland Park Community Center. 610 N. Sixth St., www. facebook.com/groups/ClevelandPark
Eastwood Neighbors
6:30 p.m. second Tuesday of every other month, Eastwood Christian Church
The Eastwood Neighbors group holds a regular meeting at Eastwood Christian Church every other month. 1601 Eastland Ave., www. eastwoodneighbors.org
GET YOUR CREEP ON
The Cult Fiction Underground
The Cult Fiction Underground is housed beneath Robert Logue’s Black Raven Emporium off Gallatin Road. Every weekend they host screenings of rare and classic horror and cult films under the shop for $5. There is a gothic-style bar and lounge area downstairs also, so you can socialize and have a drink before (or after) the film. The dim basement creates an intimate gathering space for cult and horror fans. It looks like the kind of place Edgar Allen Poe might’ve stumbled out of over 150 years ago. The entrance is behind the building and parking is free. Check out
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
MEETINGS & EVENTS
6:30 p.m. second Thursday of every month, Cleveland Park Community Center
Professor Smartypants
66
NEIGHBORHOOD
Cleveland Park Neighborhood Association
KICKS FOR THE KIDS
8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Logue’s Black Raven Emporium
Black Raven’s Facebook page to see what films they’re screening each week. 2915 Gallatin Road, 615-562-4710
Greenwood Neighborhood Association
6 p.m. second Tuesday of every month, House on the Hill
The Greenwood Neighborhood Association meets monthly to discuss topics and developments relevant to their community, such as parking and neighborhood cleanup. They also highlight new businesses and invite local speakers to lead the meetings. 909 Manila St., www.greenwoodneighbors.org
March | April 2013
Inglewood Neighborhood Association
7 p.m. first Thursday of every month, Isaac Litton Alumni Center
The Inglewood Neighborhood Association meets the first Thursday of every month. Metro Councilman Anthony Davis and East Precinct police officers attend the meetings to give reports and address neighborhood issues. The meetings frequently host guest speakers and light refreshments are provided. 4500 Gallatin Road, www.inglewoodrna. org
McFerrin Neighborhood Association
6:30 p.m. first Thursday of every month, McFerrin Park Community Center
The McFerrin Neighborhood Association meets monthly at McFerrin Park Community Center. 301 Berry St.
Rosebank Neighbors
6:30 p.m. third Thursday of every month, Memorial Lutheran Church
The Rosebank Neighbors group holds a meeting and potluck each month. Guest speakers are frequently invited to lead meetings. Metro Council members Peter Westerholm and Anthony Davis attend the meetings as well as East Precinct police officers to address and discuss issues pertinent to the neighborhood. 1211 Riverside Drive.
Shelby Hills Neighborhood Association
6:30 p.m. third Monday of every month, Shelby Community Center
The Shelby Hills Neighborhood Association meets each month to discuss matters of concern to residents in their area. 401 S. 20th St., www.shelbyhills.org.
Chamber East
7:15 to 9 a.m. first Wednesday of every month, Location TBA
The Chamber East meets every month for a networking coffee to discuss community updates, and how to grow and improve the East Nashville area. 711 S. 11th St.
Dickerson Road Merchants Association
4 p.m. last Thursday of every month, Metro Police East Precinct
936 E. Trinity Lane, www.dickersonroadmerchants.com
East Nashville Caucus
5 p.m. first Wednesday of every month, Metro Police East Precinct
The East Nashville Caucus provides a public forum for East Nashville community leaders, representatives, council members and neighbors. 936 E. Trinity Lane
If you have an event you would like to have listed, please send information about the event to calendar@ theeastnashvillian.com.
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
67
E A S T S ID E C A L E N D A R
out paying a pretty penny to do it? Head over to FooBar on Thursday nights — East Nasty-based record label Palaver Records hosts a weekly showcase to promote both local and traveling acts. It gives them a chance to scout performers, bands an opportunity to promote themselves, and gives music lovers a cheap show to catch during the week (only $3 at the door—you can’t beat that in Music City). You can see an array of different genres from week to week, and the beer always flows easy at FooBar with $3 drafts. 2511 Gallatin Road, www.palaverrecords.com
6 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, The Family Wash
It’s only appropriate that a venue named The Family Wash hosts a family night once a week. Every Wednesday, kids eat free at The Wash and Professor Smartypants hosts. They call him the “master of disguise and intrigue.” He tells jokes and sings songs, but his comedy isn’t just for the kiddies; parents will enjoy his humor, too. Professor Smartypants goes on at 6:30 p.m. sharp, so don’t be late. 2038 Greenwood Ave., 615-226-6070, www. familywash.com
The Cleveland Park Neighborhood Association meets monthly at the Cleveland Park Community Center. 610 N. Sixth St., www. facebook.com/groups/ClevelandPark
Eastwood Neighbors
6:30 p.m. second Tuesday of every other month, Eastwood Christian Church
The Eastwood Neighbors group holds a regular meeting at Eastwood Christian Church every other month. 1601 Eastland Ave., www. eastwoodneighbors.org
GET YOUR CREEP ON
The Cult Fiction Underground
The Cult Fiction Underground is housed beneath Robert Logue’s Black Raven Emporium off Gallatin Road. Every weekend they host screenings of rare and classic horror and cult films under the shop for $5. There is a gothic-style bar and lounge area downstairs also, so you can socialize and have a drink before (or after) the film. The dim basement creates an intimate gathering space for cult and horror fans. It looks like the kind of place Edgar Allen Poe might’ve stumbled out of over 150 years ago. The entrance is behind the building and parking is free. Check out
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
MEETINGS & EVENTS
6:30 p.m. second Thursday of every month, Cleveland Park Community Center
Professor Smartypants
66
NEIGHBORHOOD
Cleveland Park Neighborhood Association
KICKS FOR THE KIDS
8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Logue’s Black Raven Emporium
Black Raven’s Facebook page to see what films they’re screening each week. 2915 Gallatin Road, 615-562-4710
Greenwood Neighborhood Association
6 p.m. second Tuesday of every month, House on the Hill
The Greenwood Neighborhood Association meets monthly to discuss topics and developments relevant to their community, such as parking and neighborhood cleanup. They also highlight new businesses and invite local speakers to lead the meetings. 909 Manila St., www.greenwoodneighbors.org
March | April 2013
Inglewood Neighborhood Association
7 p.m. first Thursday of every month, Isaac Litton Alumni Center
The Inglewood Neighborhood Association meets the first Thursday of every month. Metro Councilman Anthony Davis and East Precinct police officers attend the meetings to give reports and address neighborhood issues. The meetings frequently host guest speakers and light refreshments are provided. 4500 Gallatin Road, www.inglewoodrna. org
McFerrin Neighborhood Association
6:30 p.m. first Thursday of every month, McFerrin Park Community Center
The McFerrin Neighborhood Association meets monthly at McFerrin Park Community Center. 301 Berry St.
Rosebank Neighbors
6:30 p.m. third Thursday of every month, Memorial Lutheran Church
The Rosebank Neighbors group holds a meeting and potluck each month. Guest speakers are frequently invited to lead meetings. Metro Council members Peter Westerholm and Anthony Davis attend the meetings as well as East Precinct police officers to address and discuss issues pertinent to the neighborhood. 1211 Riverside Drive.
Shelby Hills Neighborhood Association
6:30 p.m. third Monday of every month, Shelby Community Center
The Shelby Hills Neighborhood Association meets each month to discuss matters of concern to residents in their area. 401 S. 20th St., www.shelbyhills.org.
Chamber East
7:15 to 9 a.m. first Wednesday of every month, Location TBA
The Chamber East meets every month for a networking coffee to discuss community updates, and how to grow and improve the East Nashville area. 711 S. 11th St.
Dickerson Road Merchants Association
4 p.m. last Thursday of every month, Metro Police East Precinct
936 E. Trinity Lane, www.dickersonroadmerchants.com
East Nashville Caucus
5 p.m. first Wednesday of every month, Metro Police East Precinct
The East Nashville Caucus provides a public forum for East Nashville community leaders, representatives, council members and neighbors. 936 E. Trinity Lane
If you have an event you would like to have listed, please send information about the event to calendar@ theeastnashvillian.com.
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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marketplace
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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
marketplace
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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marketplace
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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
marketplace
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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marketplace
marketplace
3 Independent Law Practices 1 Neighborhood Location
Look for the Blue Door The Law Offices of Andrew Caple-Shaw The Law Offices of Robbie H. Bell The Law Offices of Clayton Thomas Wraith
(615) 800-2348 307 N. 16th Street 37206 Walk-Ins Welcome
East side fish??? at parris printing it’s about your needs. your message. your
Parris
style
michael lundholm
(615) 727-1231 michael@parrisprinting.com
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THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
71
marketplace
marketplace
3 Independent Law Practices 1 Neighborhood Location
Look for the Blue Door The Law Offices of Andrew Caple-Shaw The Law Offices of Robbie H. Bell The Law Offices of Clayton Thomas Wraith
(615) 800-2348 307 N. 16th Street 37206 Walk-Ins Welcome
East side fish??? at parris printing it’s about your needs. your message. your
Parris
style
michael lundholm
(615) 727-1231 michael@parrisprinting.com
70
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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East of normal My kingdom for a cuppa By Tommy Womack
G
reetings from Ireland, land of pink hearts, yellow moons and green clovers. I’m over here playing my music and traveling with a great artist, Ben Reel, staying at his home. We’re right on the southern side of the border with “The North,” as they call Northern Ireland —“The Nart” in local parlance. Ben grew up right in the thick of The Troubles, which is what they call the years of bombings, assassinations and general mayhem that came with the conflict between Northern Irish Protestants loyal to the British Crown and Catholics loyal to the notion that Ireland should be unified. Ben saw a bomb go off when he was 7, remembers the IRA commandeering his family’s home when he was young, too. There were machine gun-toting British paramilitary groups camped out on the hillside in front of his house. It was a horrendous era, and I’ve heard a lot of stories like that over here. Ahh, a nice cuppa tea. When I’m over here I drink tea exclusively. Two reasons: 1) These people know their way around a cuppa tea, and 2) The coffee is shit. They do have coffee shops over here — the main chain is a Starbucks knock-off called Costa — and I kid you not, this is how they make coffee: They fix a shot of espresso, pour it into a cup and fill it the rest of the way with boiling water. Then they give it to you, expecting you to be grateful. If I hadn’t seen a barista do this with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it. She didn’t even stir it. Terrible. But these people know from tea. I’ll give them that. You order tea in America and the waitress brings you a cup of hot water and a tea bag on the side. Over here they bring you a tea service tray with a mini-kettle brimming with three cups’ worth of (already brewed) tea, with a little pitcher of milk, sugar varieties and even a selection of little cookies. “Biscuits” they call them. What we call biscuits, they don’t even have. The interest in Americana music is intense over here. (They use that term a lot more than
we do in the States. It appears to be accepted nomenclature. Someone tell the AMA. They’ll throw a reception.) There isn’t much knowledge of the East Nashville scene, but they listen with interest when I tell them about it, rhapsodizing about the Family Wash and the 5 Spot. Steve Earle is huge over here. Rodney Crowell, too. As is Prine and Emmylou. After our set in Dublin last night, the club owner cranked the mayor, Todd Snider. My old boss. When I tell people I used to play in Todd’s band, they think I’m God. I milk it, too. Is Todd really as f****d up as he seems, they ask? You don’t know the half of it, I say! I once saw him gut a live pigeon, fill its body cavity with weed and smoke it through the beak, after which he prayed to Satan and toddled right out onto the stage. People love stuff like that, and some even believe it. If, someday, I ever find that my word carries enough weight to sully a man’s reputation, I’m going to treat myself to a Japanese steak house dinner. We’re in Ireland the rest of this week and then we go to England for another week (followed by a gig at a festival in Holland, which I hope is nowhere near one of their “coffee” bars, because you might never see me again.) The big difference between Ireland and England is that Ireland looks a lot more like America; the houses are bigger than English houses and they’re spread out onto larger plots of land. There are less people in Ireland today than there were before the potato famine in the 1800s, while in England they have 80 million people on an island the size of Alabama, with spare Poles and Sikhs stacked up in attics like cord wood. Well, I must go downstairs and freshen my tea. The caffeine in tea is a much more subtle buzz than what you get from coffee, a serene but slightly hyperactive sort of feeling. I like it. I hope you’ve enjoyed my little travelogue as much as I have writing it. You’re a good person with taste, class and distinction. The fact that you’re reading my column lets me know that. Erin Go Braless!
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East of normal My kingdom for a cuppa By Tommy Womack
G
reetings from Ireland, land of pink hearts, yellow moons and green clovers. I’m over here playing my music and traveling with a great artist, Ben Reel, staying at his home. We’re right on the southern side of the border with “The North,” as they call Northern Ireland —“The Nart” in local parlance. Ben grew up right in the thick of The Troubles, which is what they call the years of bombings, assassinations and general mayhem that came with the conflict between Northern Irish Protestants loyal to the British Crown and Catholics loyal to the notion that Ireland should be unified. Ben saw a bomb go off when he was 7, remembers the IRA commandeering his family’s home when he was young, too. There were machine gun-toting British paramilitary groups camped out on the hillside in front of his house. It was a horrendous era, and I’ve heard a lot of stories like that over here. Ahh, a nice cuppa tea. When I’m over here I drink tea exclusively. Two reasons: 1) These people know their way around a cuppa tea, and 2) The coffee is shit. They do have coffee shops over here — the main chain is a Starbucks knock-off called Costa — and I kid you not, this is how they make coffee: They fix a shot of espresso, pour it into a cup and fill it the rest of the way with boiling water. Then they give it to you, expecting you to be grateful. If I hadn’t seen a barista do this with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it. She didn’t even stir it. Terrible. But these people know from tea. I’ll give them that. You order tea in America and the waitress brings you a cup of hot water and a tea bag on the side. Over here they bring you a tea service tray with a mini-kettle brimming with three cups’ worth of (already brewed) tea, with a little pitcher of milk, sugar varieties and even a selection of little cookies. “Biscuits” they call them. What we call biscuits, they don’t even have. The interest in Americana music is intense over here. (They use that term a lot more than
we do in the States. It appears to be accepted nomenclature. Someone tell the AMA. They’ll throw a reception.) There isn’t much knowledge of the East Nashville scene, but they listen with interest when I tell them about it, rhapsodizing about the Family Wash and the 5 Spot. Steve Earle is huge over here. Rodney Crowell, too. As is Prine and Emmylou. After our set in Dublin last night, the club owner cranked the mayor, Todd Snider. My old boss. When I tell people I used to play in Todd’s band, they think I’m God. I milk it, too. Is Todd really as f****d up as he seems, they ask? You don’t know the half of it, I say! I once saw him gut a live pigeon, fill its body cavity with weed and smoke it through the beak, after which he prayed to Satan and toddled right out onto the stage. People love stuff like that, and some even believe it. If, someday, I ever find that my word carries enough weight to sully a man’s reputation, I’m going to treat myself to a Japanese steak house dinner. We’re in Ireland the rest of this week and then we go to England for another week (followed by a gig at a festival in Holland, which I hope is nowhere near one of their “coffee” bars, because you might never see me again.) The big difference between Ireland and England is that Ireland looks a lot more like America; the houses are bigger than English houses and they’re spread out onto larger plots of land. There are less people in Ireland today than there were before the potato famine in the 1800s, while in England they have 80 million people on an island the size of Alabama, with spare Poles and Sikhs stacked up in attics like cord wood. Well, I must go downstairs and freshen my tea. The caffeine in tea is a much more subtle buzz than what you get from coffee, a serene but slightly hyperactive sort of feeling. I like it. I hope you’ve enjoyed my little travelogue as much as I have writing it. You’re a good person with taste, class and distinction. The fact that you’re reading my column lets me know that. Erin Go Braless!
Hunters
Custom
The Coolest Accessories in Town for 45 Years! YOU CAN TRUST US FOR TINTING
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Your interior can be 60% cooler during those hot summer days with proper tinting. Don’t trust your tint installation to anybody else.
AUTO VENTSHADE
VENTVISOR® or VENTSHADE® Made of rugged reinforced acrylic. Keeps rain out and lets fresh air in. No drill installation. Let us install yours today.
Trifecta
Securely clamps onto the truck bed. NO drilling and
Replace your Jeep top before spring’s showers
NO damage.
CHOOSE CHROME OR SMOKE
WINDFLECTOR® — lets you open up, whatever the weather. Windflector reduces wind noise and air turbulence, provides a barrier against rain while driving and installs with 3M™ brand tape.
America’s Favorite Tonneau
Let us install yours today.
Helps save gas!
Putco Premium Interior Dome Light Kits
Use original lighting fixtures without damaging the original system. Add security when approaching your vehicle. Custom fit for your vehicle. Lasts 50,000 hours.
AUTO VENTSHADE
NEW!
Open Door. Step on Board.
L.E.D. Tailgate Lights!
Easy Cleaning Automatically deploys for easy stepping in and out of your high-riding truck. When the door closes, board retracts safely out of sight with no loss of ground clearance. Let Hunters install one for you today. 72
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
975 MAIN ST.
227-6584
Not your usual flimsy generic off-the-shelf floor mats. Provides year round protection. Guaranteed not to crack or break.
hunterscustom.comMarch | April 2013
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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P A R T I N G SHOTS
American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Survivor Committee
Fabulous Females Fighting Cancer Presents
A Ladies Night Out the Keith Gattis band benefit for lisa at the mercy lounge l-r: Michael Webb, audley freed, fred eltringham, keith gattis, billy mercer
Photograph by stacie huckeba
– Black Dress Affair
Friday, April 26, 2013 | 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. Tennessee Army National Guard | Hall of Flags 3041 Sidco Drive, Nashville, Tennessee (I-65 and Armory Drive)
Kickoff Event for the 2013 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk Order your tickets today at: fabulousfemalesfightingcancer.org Presale: $30 online (Available through Wednesday, April 24)
$40 at the door Live Band | Silent Auction | Food | Wine | Beer the smoking flowers benefit for lisa at the mercy lounge Kim & scott collins
Photograph by stacie huckeba
74
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
75
P A R T I N G SHOTS
American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Survivor Committee
Fabulous Females Fighting Cancer Presents
A Ladies Night Out the Keith Gattis band benefit for lisa at the mercy lounge l-r: Michael Webb, audley freed, fred eltringham, keith gattis, billy mercer
Photograph by stacie huckeba
– Black Dress Affair
Friday, April 26, 2013 | 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. Tennessee Army National Guard | Hall of Flags 3041 Sidco Drive, Nashville, Tennessee (I-65 and Armory Drive)
Kickoff Event for the 2013 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk Order your tickets today at: fabulousfemalesfightingcancer.org Presale: $30 online (Available through Wednesday, April 24)
$40 at the door Live Band | Silent Auction | Food | Wine | Beer the smoking flowers benefit for lisa at the mercy lounge Kim & scott collins
Photograph by stacie huckeba
74
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
March | April 2013 THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
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Take a symphonic journey into Wagner’s mythical world of The Ring, including “Ride of the Valkyries.” BUY TICKETS AT: NashvilleSymphony.org 615.687.6400 76
THEEASTNASHVILLIAN.COM
March | April 2013
Artwork by Sam Smith, an illustrator and musician living in Nashville, Tennessee. See more of his work at samsmyth.net.
CLASSICAL SERIES CONCERT SPONSOR